Shadows of the past
by chloemcg
Summary: Four years after they got their bodies back, Elric brothers; Edward and Alphonse, are finally settling into peaceful family life and life couldn't be better. But when a new threat comes and kidnaps Winry and burns down the family home, abandoning the children, Ed and Al set out in another adventure to tackle this new enemy whilst Ed struggles with the task of fatherhood.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

Thunder rumbled, a rumbling so loud that it would have been enough to shake a mountain.

The sounds reverberated through the dark grey clouds that coated the skies in a blackening abyss that made the entire world have this gloomy and lonesome atmosphere as the rain had started to fall down to the heavens and thus soak everyone in the skies tears.

The earth below was quite empty as far as the weather was concerned, though, so everyone had managed to evade getting a good old soaking from the falling rain.

The concrete roads and pathways were becoming flooded as the rain had started to drench everything in its own brand of wetness that managed to engulf anything and everything in a presence darker than any enemy.

It had been almost four years since the famous full metal alchemist, Edward Elric, and his loyal little brother, Alphonse, had brought a form of peace to the world;

The two brothers had been on a quest to restore their bodies after a very serious mishap with alchemy went terribly wrong and resulted in Alphonse's soul becoming tied with a metal suit of armour and Ed losing his arm and leg. They had, thankfully, managed to get life back to the way that would meet their satisfaction after such a long struggle with fate and other threats.

Now a new beginning was beginning to shine brightly in the horizon. Everyone was happy with this change, of course, and would never replace it.

No one was even crazy enough to go out into such a stormy weather.

...All except one man, a man who gone by the title of colonel Roy Mustang.

The blind expert of fire alchemy was wrapped in a black cloak of silk that hid his identity, slowly strolled through the rain without a care in the world. As he could not reply on his sight to aid him, he had to rely on his trusted companion's dog, Black Hayate. The black Shiba Inu sniffed at the ground whilst pulling Mustang towards the proper place.

The colonel kept his head down as if hanging it in shame and he even constantly wrung his sleeves to get rid of the moisture that made them heavily sag towards the floor. He didn't say a word, nor make a sound except for the clicks his shoes made when they touched the ground.

The rain battered the lone phantom-like figure although it seemed to have no effect on him as he boldly passed through it without a care. The roads he took were like a labyrinth or a maze as he crossed each street that was already soaking wet with rain.

The narrow straits of roads and pathways were quite easy to navigate through and each building that decorated the streets, the towering rectangular buildings huddled up together to highly resemble penguins huddling together during a severe arctic blizzard.

Tightening the grip of the lead that made him keep hold on the black dog, Mustang let himself feel the cool moisture brush against his face as he inwardly shivered from how chilly it was. He could easily remember how beautiful the outside world looked, he wished to experience his sight and he desired more than anything to be able to see the future one of his trusted allies, Fullmetal alchemist Edward Elric, had built.

He kept walking until he reached a small bar that was huddled up randomly, sandwiched between two separate apartments.

It resembled a small shack but the man paid no heed to it as he simply knocked on the door in a peculiar rhythm, gaining some attention from the other men inside the building.

Of course he didn't see them, but he could most definitely hear the constant voices chattering from left and right and he could hear the wine glasses make metallic 'klink' sounds.

It sounded like a typical everyday bar.

Feeling around his head, he reached for his hood and pulled it tighter around his head to try and hide his true identity from those surrounding him.

Without someone to properly guide him and tell him what to ignite into flames within a simple snap of the fingers, he would be a sightless man without a means to defend himself.

He loathed that feeling of vulnerability but he was also shadowed by it.

"Hmmm...now, where could my lieutenant be?" He mumbled to himself, looking around even though he couldn't see a thing but the pitch black world he had learned to call his whole entire view of the world.

Admittedly, he missed seeing the world in colours then seeing everything in a complete field of darkness and he wanted to see people's faces...especially her face.

He could feel Black Hayate nudge his muzzle against his knee, breaking him out of his train of thought and causing it to crash temporarily. He didn't need to ponder on the woman's whereabouts for long and Roy Mustang almost sighed in relief of having someone familiar by his side instead of being in a place filled with unfamiliar people whom he couldn't see and therefore discern their characters.

Hawk eye seemed to have walked up to him and grasped his gloved hands in hers, capturing his right hand as she gently guided him over towards a table.

Lieutenant Riza Hawk eye knew that her commanding officer had to hear this piece of news but it was also a very delicate matter that had to be solved immediately and she knew that, without a doubt, Mustang had to hear it.

She didn't know how this situation could have escalated into such a dangerous level but she knew that she couldn't let it go on.

So, pulling Mustang towards a table and sitting him down, Hawk eye glared her beautiful yellow orbs seriously at the man as she heard him ask her with a hint of irritation present in his voice "Alright, lieutenant, tell me why you brought me all the way out here with your mutt?"

Upon being mentioned, Black Hayate perked his head up and let out a soft whine.

Reaching down to scratch her dog behind the ear to calm him down, Riza started to speak with a free hand tucking some long locks of her blonde hair behind her own ear whilst she noticed that Mustang didn't look very impressed.

Even though her superior wasn't known for his patience, especially considering that he was dragged out of the nice warmth of his dry office, the woman knew that she had no other choice but to talk to the man about this. She just had to choose her words very carefully.

Mustang could feel a serious aura gather around her, accumulating and multiplying as a long few moments of silence between them had passed. He had no clue as to knowing when the woman would spit it out and he heard her inhale as she presumably opened her mouth to speak.

Eventually she did start talking.

"Sir, you may not believe this but I have reason to believe that we have a new dangerous enemy on our hands..."

The colonel didn't speak, nodding to urge her to continue.

However he was incredibly intrigued upon he heard this since it had been awhile since a real threat had popped up, making his life just a little bit predictable and boring but he didn't like where this was going either.

He could tell by the sound of Riza's voice that she was deeply worried for whatever reason.

Ever since he had lost his vision, the flame alchemist had figured out that his hearing had very much improved and he had even learned to discern the tone of people's voices and be able to figure out shapes by touch.

So being a blind bat did have its advantages.

Riza continued, glancing away momentarily from the colonel "...we know next-to-nothing about this character except that they're extremely skilled with alchemy. They could even rival fullmetal in a dual!"

Colonel Mustang listened intently and hung on every word that poured from Hawk eye's lips.

He was starting to become more and more intrigued about this mysterious character that sounded actually kind of interesting, but he wondered how this guy was a threat and what he could have been doing to catch Riza Hawk eye's attention.

However, as he reached for an unknown glass that was perched on the table in front of him and raised it to his lips, Mustang heard something very disturbing come out of her mouth:

"They have been hunting down Fullmetal, sir, and have been mortally harming innocent civilians by using dark powers to interrogate them!"

That was it.

Instantly after hearing that, the drink that the colonel had been sipping at the time was sucked down into Mustang's trachea and he started to cough violently. His eyes shot open in terror as he pounded his fist roughly against his chest to try and bring up the rest of the drink he had swallowed.

He had no idea what he drank but he could swear that he had swallowed something with a vinegary tangy taste.

Whatever it was, it tasted disgusting.

After spitting out the liquid all over the table and on Riza, Mustang panted heavily to try and get over the shock of what he had just heard.

It turned out that his coughing had even attracted a lot of attention as everything went silent and tension poured into the atmosphere, it was easy to tell that all eyes were on the pair as they stayed silent for several moments.

Nobody dared to speak a word as the colonel had just waited for the news to sink in. He couldn't believe it...how could an alchemist match the strength of Edward Elric, how was that even possible...and how could such an apparent threat harm

people in such a vague yet horrifying manner in this age of peace?!

Suddenly, all the peace that was there before had been sucked dry from the air.

Neither Mustang nor Riza said a word, they just let the horrifying tension sink in as they tried to ignore the multiple pairs of eyes that were set on the both of them.

The colonel and his sharp-shooting Lieutenant felt their hearts grow heavy as they stared directly at the empty wall in front of them, trying to momentarily cleanse their minds of all obstructive thoughts so they could think clearly on the right course of action.

After recollecting his thoughts, Roy inhaled deeply before exhaling out all his scrambled and disorganised thoughts before he opened his unseeing eyes to look directly at his most trusted friend.

"...Lieutenant, tell me. Alphonse Elric is nearby, is he not?"

Riza looked confused. Why would the colonel ask something like that...unless...!

Nodding, she frowned seriously yet kept her voice low to make certain that none of the people looking at them would overhear "Yes, would you like me to send for him?"

"No. Just tell him to go and visit his brother, he could be our little messenger pigeon in a sense..."

Hawk eye understood what her superior was getting at. He wanted her to give Alphonse a message to give to Edward and tell him what was going on, but why not tell Al? Wouldn't things be safer if Alphonse was told about this too? He had a right to know, he was the dude's brother and if something was hunting down his brother then he would more than likely have a strong desire to protect him.

But still...why not tell Alphonse, it made no sense to her.

"But sir-!"

She started to argue but only for Colonel Mustang to sharply cut her off.

"That's an order!"

As all the happiness in the air plummeted to the floor with a heavy thud, the duo both turned their heads towards the windows when a sudden rumbling sound preceded by a snap of lightning had brought their attention.

The wind howled from outside and the darkening world grew ever darker whence the heavy rainfall kicked up and it delivered a serious blow to the minds of everyone present in the bar.

Just who was this new threat? Everyone was thinking about who it could be as rumours flew around.

But they knew one thing:

The culprit was out there somewhere, on the move.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm so sorry this chapter sucked, guys. Hopefully the next chapter will be much better and I am kind of new to the FMA fandom but I have got the gist of it, I think.**

 **Im still not very well because my stomach is still sore. My health sucks.**

 **Anyways, here's the prologue and I shall edit it soon if this isn't good enough. Please be kind enough to review, everyone, and I'll upload the first official chapter just after this one.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	2. Chapter 1: Coming home

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

It was the early hours of the evening when Edward Elric had finally reached his old hometown of Resembol.

The skies were dark with dusk and the stars were only just coming into visibility.

Legs ached and arms weighed heavily down by his sides as the former Fullmetal alchemist sighed with sweet relief. He stood at the bottom of a beautiful luscious, green hill that allowed him to behold a lonesome yet quaint little cottage which appeared to have been crafted right out of the pages of a storybook. Golden pools stared longingly at the little cottage atop the quiet hill, his determined yet tired yellow eyes settling on the nice quaint house which he had come to call home for such a long time.

Ed had just returned after a small trip abroad, travelling a bit to make sure there was no trouble that required his full attention. He may have lost his powers of alchemy but that didn't exactly mean that he couldn't do his part...he even lost his famous arm but that didn't deter him in the slightest.

The ex-alchemist felt the wind softly pull his long golden hair in all directions, gently tousling it somewhat playfully. He closed his eyes to take in the homely yet rich countryside air that Resembol had always provided him with, that feeling of warm and comforting memories of the nice little house and home he had always adored to visit over and over again.

There was one reason he adored this place and this reason was that this was where his family had taken a peaceful refuge.

Well, aside from the absence of his little brother Alphonse, Edward knew that his family would always be there to greet him whenever he would come home. He would also sometimes come unannounced to surprise them but he knew that it would annoy the daylights out of his beautiful wife, Winry Rockbell.

Alphonse would have been there at the house, considering that he lived there too, but there were times that he would have to leave on business trips with his beautiful girlfriend, Mei, whom was another good friend of his and his family and the princess of Xing. She even helped out with the initial quest they went on for alchemy, self-discovery and even the philosophers stone.

Ed stopped, his breath catching in his throat when he suddenly realised that four years had just flown on by...four long years had passed since his and Al's journey to restore their bodies to normal so they could atone for their mistakes -so much had happened yet it felt like it was only yesterday when he was still a dog for the military. It had been 4 long years since he and Alphonse had finally gotten their bodies back since their difficult childhoods.

Actually, Ed very nearly shed a nostalgic tear or two at the thought but he decided not to since he didn't want to blubber like a little baby before he got home.

So, deciding to snap out of his brief flash of reminiscence, Ed started his ascend up the hill and he grew more and more excited with every step he took. So much so that his leisurely pace had quickly turned into a sprint up the hill. It was a sprint so fast that it made his coat billow in the wind behind him as he ran up the hill to try and get to the house quickly so he could see his wife and children for the first time in months.

He had missed them so much...

When he finally skidded to a sudden halt at the front door, Edward stood still for several moments whilst taking in the details and sights of his home.

The house itself was built out of some fine beige brickwork, the door made out of the finest of pine to create a hollow barrier between the outside world and the house itself. Ivy grew all around the house, gluing on to the bricks and there were even some blooming orchids and thorns stuck to the vines. There were some nicely knitted cobwebs stuck in the little corners of the rooftop. The house looked quite breathtaking, and even more inviting, especially when the sun hit the house just right to make it look stunning against a beautiful series of orange rays reflecting against the orange rooftops.

Smiling happily, the ex-alchemist balled his fist and held it up high before knocking the door with great enthusiasm.

He could hardly keep still he was so excited...!

It felt like an eternity before the door opened and he was greeted by the beautiful face of Winry.

The beautiful mechanic seemed to have been muttering something under her breath, showing that she was agitated about something, before she threw open the door and was met by the face of her lover. When her eyes first lay on him her jaw dropped, she didn't even have much time to completely take in the reality of the situation. She seemed shocked at first as she stood as still as a tombstone, her eyes were wider than dinner plates and her words seemed to have become entangled in her throat as she stammered and stumbled on her own speech.

Overtime her cheeks turned a shade to match the colour of ripe cherries.

Edward wryly smirked, he couldn't deny that she was adorable when flustered.

Winry had grown up a little bit since he last seen her. She was looking a lot more motherly and she even had a glow that had never faded even after she had gone through the mircale of pregnancy. Her figure was thin and quite perfect whilst her features were seeming to be as delicate as an orchid...although her mind was tougher then a boulder. She didn't really change, but her usually snarky demeanour had been pushed down...only slightly.

But then Winry's shock evaporated into thin air and she wore a face of embarrassment and anger. Flames of a mixture of fury and concern ignited in her usually calm blue eyes as she smacked her ex-alchemist husband across the head with the wrench that she had just so happened to have been holding at the time and shot sharp daggers at him.

Actually, if the term "looks could kill" were true then the poor man would have disintegrated into a burning pile of ashes by now.

Another blow across the head was delivered, finally snapping the blonde-haired man out of his train of thought as he stumbled backwards in shock and surprise. He was surprised that she would react that way...but then again, what else should he expect?

Rubbing his forehead gingerly, Ed stomped his foot and asked his wife angrily.

"Hey, what'd you do that for!?"

Winry snapped back in retaliation, her face reddening from rage.

"For making me worry and not calling first, I mean jeez! You could've at least called me to let me know you were coming home, Edward! Then I would've cleaned the house up and tidy it, I told you time and time again to call me first! But I-!"

The woman was silenced when her husband had abruptly wrapped his arms around her waist and swiftly pulled her in for a kiss.

Winry had completely paused on her tangent when she felt her lover's warm lips passionately crash against hers and her eyes were wide with shock and surprise as she tried to register what was happening. Just why had Ed silenced her by doing this, was it just so she could stop speaking and make herself look stupid? If he was trying to woo her to avoid some hurting by her handy wrench, then it was working. The automail mechanic eventually fully embraced the kiss as she closed her eyes and kissed Ed back, making the corners of his puckered lips curl upwards to form a triumphant smirk.

At least he could hopefully avoid getting hit a second time with the tool.

Husband and wife stood and kissed in the doorway for what felt like an eternity until a sudden high-pitched wail penetrated through the walls and totally spoiled the moment.

Groaning out of disappointment of having to part lips, Winry's posture deflated like a balloon as she begrudgingly turned on her feet and then trudged down the hall and turned right to walk into the kitchen. She looked borderline exhausted now, it seemed that all the energy had been sapped out of her when she remembered that she had two children to look after, and both were big handfuls.

Recognising the cries of his little girl, Edward couldn't keep himself from grinning like a maniac as he giddily and tentatively followed the love of his life into the kitchen. He brole into a hastened stride before he soon found himself peering into the kitchen and silently observed as his wife went to take care of the origin of the noise.

The former alchemist smiled softly when his eyes settled on the scene unfolding before him, his metal-strong heart melting like butter upon seeing his only daughter.

Wailing loudly, wriggling in a high chair, was little the baby girl who was only six-months of age. She looked a lot like her mother with her dazzling blue eyes and her hair colour -yet they were tied in little bunches. She had Winry's nose and had inherited Ed's rounded facial structure. The baby had eyes filled with tears and she even pounded her tiny fist grumpily against the tray in a tantrum, the force of her tiny fist coming into contact with the plastic tray causing the miniature bowls sitting on top to jump just slightly as well as spilling the mush that were in there to the floor below.

Winry, sighing that the infant was throwing yet another temper tantrum, slowly walked over to her daughter and gently set the spanner down on the counter which had some other robotic parts resting on the surface, obviously the items being kept there for her auto mail business.

When she stopped in front of the high chair, she bent down and lifted the whimpering baby out of it and gently cradled her in her arms.

"Come here, Ed, a certain someone wanted to see you," Winry smiled warmly whilst holding the little infant girl wearing a green onesie in her arms, cradling the little child whom only suckled on her thumb with her pale blue eyes shimmering with a delightful interest.

Trisha was a delightful little scamp who had actually been named after her deceased grandmother, Trisha Elric. While she was somewhat bubbly and giggly and even hyperactive for a toddling baby, she was still a joy to have around as she would even somehow bend others to her every whim and turn them into putty in her minuscule chubby hands.

Ever since the day she was born, she had her father wrapped around her little finger and she was a daddy's girl for sure.

Upon standing before his wife, Edward took the tiny blonde-haired girl from her mother and held her in his arms; Ed studied the features his daughter had and he couldn't help but smile widely at her, Trisha's big blue pools stared right up into his yellow ones and she whimpered and hiccuped as she reached up to touch his face.

Ed adored his daughter.

While she reminded him of her mother in looks, there were some traits that she had inherited from him; her personality for example. Trisha would always get fussy and she could be very judgemental of others, she even glared silently at people who called her "little" even though she shouldn't even know what that term means and, to top it off, she was a very picky eater.

The ex-alchemist bounced the baby in his arms and spoke in a gentle baby voice. "Why hello, precious, did you miss daddy? He certainly missed you, yes he did!"

The little girl in green stopped crying altogether and cooed happily as she found her grip on one of her father's long bangs and she even tugged on it, letting out a trilling squeal of amusement whenever she would get a slight reaction of pain from the adult.

Ed couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he felt the mischievous little girl yank on his hair, he adored hearing her laugh. It always made him happy that at least one of their children really liked him. Trying to weaken the infant's grip on his hair, Ed simply smirked painfully at her since he was unable to be cross with her. "Heh...aren't you a little rascal?"

Trisha giggled, clearly feeling much better. She still wouldn't release his hair, though, as she clearly was very strong. She continued to tug on it as if it were a pull toy and each time she did, it made her father wince from the discomfort of having his hair pulled.

Edward didn't mind in the least, though, at least his baby girl was happier now and had stopped crying her little eyes out. Sometimes, actually, he always liked to think that his daughter liked him best.

He'd even always get to show off about it to Winry, much to her chagrin.

Happiness flashed in baby Trisha's big round eyes as it was then that she felt a pair of big slim hands coil around her little waist and pull her out of her father's arms. The baby let out a very disappointed whine as she silently shot a dark glare at her mother, almost making Winry glare right back with an equally dark look but it was more playful than anything else.

The blonde-haired woman sighed at the infant, teasingly scolding her as she got a very immature reaction from the girl's father in turn which she decided to ignore. She cradled the giggly little child in her arms and furrowed her brows at her miniature clone.

"Alright, Trisha, alright, you don't wanna make daddy bald do you?"

Edward tickled little Trisha's cheek, earning a giggle from the six-month-old, and gazed sweetly at her tiny round face.

"Aw...mama's no fun is she? Well we both know whose best parent, right sweetie...?"

Trisha giggled again at her father's silliness.

Winry glared at Ed. She hated it when her husband was an annoying pest! It was true that their daughter preferred her father more, everyone knew that, but she hated it when he decided to rub it in her face. Snarling and without a word, Winry smacked Edward upside the head a third time and thus made him comically plummet to the floor with a heavy thud.

Winry gave a wry chuckle of victory and started to walk up the stairs with Trisha held over her shoulder. However, she then spared a very worried glance to her husband whom was just sitting up to recover from the slap he had received.

Edward froze. He knew that look...he didn't like that look...

She only gave him one of those looks if she was pretty worried about someone, or if HE was injured. She especially looked at him like that when they were younger, back when he still had robotic limbs and she was still working with Auto mail...

It was then that he realised that his son was absent from the scene.

"Hey, where's Edmund...?" Edward asked, concern etching on his face as his yellow orbs widened with an equal amount of fear.

The former Full metal alchemist looked at his wife whom shook her head. She gave Ed a gesture that told him to follow her and follow he did as he trailed up the stairs after his lover whom carried the cute little baby girl over her shoulder. She climbed up the stairs whilst she gently bounced Trisha over her shoulder and she disappeared around the corner with a sudden air of mystery and concern floating around her.

Edward had no idea what this was all about but he had a horrible feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

Ed walked out into the garden and instantly saw his son sitting far in front of him, sitting over the edge of a nice little bump in the earth that could have been qualified as a hill whilst he seemed to have been staring out into the setting sun which had just started to descend down into the earth so it could make way for the moon.

' _Okay, Ed, take a deep breath...you can do this..._ ' The former metal alchemist thought to himself, preparing himself to talk with his son ' _c-c-c'mon, if Al can do it then how hard could it be...?_ '

He swallowed when he realised the irony of that question, knowing deep down now that he was doomed.

Winry had explained to him that their only son had found some old books of Alchemy and used it the same way Ed and Alphonse did when they were children, only creating little objects or repairing items of a persons importance. Of course Edward was shocked of how his oldest could obtain such knowledge but then, being the only son of a former master alchemist, it was probably bound to happen.

However, Ed panicked.

He knew full well what could happen should one single mistake be made by abusing such a power. It messed with the laws of nature and physics and Edward was always fret of how it could end up.

He just couldn't let his son get involved with such abilities...

Moving his legs involuntarily, the blonde-haired man made his way over towards the three-year-old boy with his heart racing.

He wasn't home very often enough to see his son so he didn't really get very much fatherly experience and so far, the toughest challenge he had to face of parenthood (other then changing babies) would have to be scolding them.

He didn't have any problems acting rough with other children, it was just that he couldn't find it in his heart to scold HIS children. But, when the time called for it, he knew exactly the right way to be gentle but firm at the same time as he had subconsciously reminded of the many times he had to scold Alphonse.

Edward knew that his offspring wouldn't do anything bad on purpose, they were just kids. But he knew that alchemy would bring nothing but disaster on his family, it would bring back the darkness that he tried to shield his peaceful life from.

Before he fully realised it, Edward had already sat down beside little Phil and placed a gentle hand upon his shoulder.

The boy, startled of the sudden physical contact, turned to face the man directly in the eye.

Edmund (or Eddie) looked quite a lot like his father, in a facial sense. His face was well rounded and he had strawberry blonde hair which framed each side of his face and was just a few shades darker than his father's. But his eyes were his most unique feature: One eye was golden, just like Edward's and Alphonse's and the rest of the now-extinct people of Xerxes, and the other was blue like his mother's and sister. He was clothed in a cotton white shirt and he wore little brown shorts.

Eddie was actually quite sensible and behaved pretty well normally, he even held a healthy respect for his father despite the fact that he was away a lot of the time.

However, he was quite sensitive, he was scared of his own shadow and he could get a bit nosy since he loved to explore and get himself into mischief.

"P-Papa!" Eddie exclaimed, shock flashing in his eyes before they caught sight of the look of slight disappointment that had been etched on the man's face.

It was the face a parent wore when they were going to give their child a lecture.

"..." Edmund moaned in a small squeak, ducking his head in between his shoulders, and he avoided looking right at his father's face as he knew very well that he was probably in deep trouble for what he had done. His eyes were filled with guilt. He didn't mean to do anything bad with alchemy, he didn't see any harm in learning about it, he only wanted to surprise his father when he got back.

It looked like the ex-alchemist was, indeed, surprised but not in the way he was hoping.

Gathering his thoughts, Edward started to speak.

"...You tried to use alchemy?"

Edmund sighed and bobbed his head meekly in an attempt at nodding but he suddenly broke down into sobs, curling up into a ball and hiding his face.

While Ed was shocked that his son had suddenly broken down, he didn't flinch and softly wrapped a gentle arm around Phil whilst stroking his back gently to try and console him. He wore a gentle frown on his face as he tried to soothe the crying boy who was bawling his eyes out.

"P-Pa...I-I-I'm such a failure!" Eddie cried out, "I t-tried to use alkemy b-but I knew I shouldn't have! I-I just wanted to make you something!"

Admittedly, the three-year-old's attempt at saying "alchemy" was adorable but the worried father decided not to linger on it.

"But you know full well that you shouldn't use alchemy, you could've gotten hurt!" Ed spoke sternly yet softly as he made his son uncurl from his ball and got him to look directly into his eyes.

The former alchemist didn't say anything for several moments before he started to lecture the boy, speaking as calmly as he could to avoid upsetting the child even further and causing another breakdown.

"Edmund Elric, you're the most level-headed and stubborn kid I know. You know better than to disobey me and your mother, you shouldn't be so reckless."

"I...I just wanted to m-make you proud, pa..." Eddie sighed, his sobs dying into hiccups.

Ed patted his son's shoulder gently.

"Then just be yourself..."

Edward looked off into the distance with a misty look in his eyes whilst he recounted the story of how he had almost lost everything after doing a reckless thing himself.

Even now, after everything was put right again, he found it hard to recall this take because of how saddening it was at the time. Licking his dry lips to try and steady himself, the former alchemist started to speak in a broken whisper.

"When me and uncle Alphonse were a little older than you, our mother died of an illness. We both wanted her back so badly, we were too young to comprehend and adjust to a life of being orphans. We just wanted her back...but I broke one of the rules, foolish kid that I was, and tried to bring our mother back to life. Although it came at a great cost..."

Whence the former full metal alchemist said this, he held on to his arm and started rubbing at it as if to remind himself that it was no longer cold metal and steel like it was instead of warm flesh and blood.

He did this on occasion to remember that he had his arm back, even though he continued to have a robotic leg but he got one vital limb back and he was everlastingly thankful for that.

Ed was oblivious to the hole his son's wide eyes were burning into the side of his head, too.

"For the longest time, I believed that alchemy was the answer to every problem...but I eventually realised that it really mean't nothing to me without those who love me standing by me. Alphonse and I had always thought that alchemy was some sort of magic gift that could make life just a little better, like a miracle,"

Ed allowed the silence to sink in for several moments before he started to speak once more.

"...However there was one thing that you must always follow, it bases the foundation of alchemy on this phrase, and its: You can't produce something from nothing."

Ed shook his head whilst explaining this. While it was tricky to explain the use of alchemy to a little boy, he knew that it had to be done otherwise he would probably lose all he had hoped to gain. He didn't want his children to go through the pain both Alphonse and himself had to go through.

Swallowing, the man continued "It's also something that I liked to call an equivalent exchange: it basically means that you want something and alchemy takes something just as important away."

Eddie looked shocked beyond words as he stared up at the adult with his jaw practically dropping to the floor. His eyes were so very wide and he seemed to have tensed up in posture as he started to realise what could have happened whilst he used such a devastating power.

Finally realising what he could have done, Eddie broke down into sobs once more. It didn't take very long at all before he started to cry aloud, bawling his little eyes out, whilst his father just continued to stare at the skies ahead as if deeply focused on the beautiful view of sunset instead of his bawling little son.

"Edmund..."

The three-year-old cried and sobbed, his breaths becoming choppy as the big salty tears came cascading down his plump cheeks. He was crying so much that his whole face was starting to turn a deep shade of red as the tears streamed down his face relentlessly and shown no signs of stopping.

Edward sighed, hanging his head momentarily, and then he whisked a sideways glance over to Eddie.

"Aw, come now..." He spoke, now sounding very sympathetic as he tried to calm the crying boy down.

But the ex-alchemist's eyes lit up and he beamed when he suddenly had an idea. It was crazy and he wasn't exactly sure if Winry would completely approve of it, but he was sure that he could pull it off without his wife being none the wiser.

"Okay, okay, look! While I don't completely agree with alchemy, maybe I could convince your mother for you and me to do a good father-son activity with Uncle Alphonse."

Eddie sniffled, rubbing the tears out of his eyes and asked hopefully.

"Really? Y-You mean it?"

"Don't be silly, would your ol' man lie to you?"

Edward quickly extended his arms towards the child and let a sly playfulness leak into his tone, picking up Edmund from beside him and placing him in a head lock. He started giving the boy an affectionate noogie whilst he roughly tousled Phil's blonde hair with his fist, but not so rough as to actually hurt him. "Come here you!" he exclaimed, growling playfully.

The former alchemist smirked evilly as his son squirmed in his arms to try and break out of his hold and kept his hold on him tighter, thus Eddie's squirming started to become more wild.

"PAHAHAHAHA! N-No! Stop, papa! Lemme go!" The three-year-old squirmed whilst he burst into a fit of laughter.

The former full metal alchemist didn't speak for several long moments as a treacherous silence had washed over both him and the boy. Father and son just stayed silent and listened carefully to the gentle blowing of the wind as the skies started to turn a very deep blue colouration instead of a magnificent fiery one.

After several minutes flew by, Phil looked up at his father and sweetly snugged against him whilst he had his little head propped against the adult's chest "I love you, papa..."

Edward sighed in contentment, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips as he closed his eyes and held his little son close to him.

He could feel his heart increase in size as it melted like a puddle of warmth and fuzziness in his chest; he really cherished moments like these and he wouldn't give up his memories for anything, not even the world. He wouldn't even dare give up his family.

His voice choked as he murmured in reply "...I love you too, son..."

However, the moment was ruined when the pair heard a voice carry through the wind as it echoed from the house a little ways behind them. It was unmistakably Winry's voice and it sounded so powerful as she called for her two boys whilst holding up a frying pan that she had obviously been cooking with.

"Boys! It's time to come inside for dinner!"

Then Winry called out to Edward, a forceful tone entering her voice "And Edward, honey, you're going to drink your milk this time!"

Edward's heart stopped pumping the instant she mentioned that white supposedly nutritious substance and his face completely froze in horror.

He proceeded to put the boy down on the ground beside him, seeming uneasily calm, before he basically leapt up to his feet and took off like a rocket whilst shouting out one sentence loud as he could.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!"

Instantly reacting and taking off after her runaway husband, Winry shouted to him.

"Edward Elric, if you wanna stop being called short then you're going to have to drink it!"

Eddie watched with mild amusement as his parents ran off into the far distance down the hill and they even shot constant retorts at each other. The former alchemist just ran away from his wife whom was trying to hit him across the head with the frying pan she held high in her grip, only to fluidly dodge the attempts of a good old thwap.

The two were running for what seemed like hours and, knowing that this wasn't going to end anytime soon, the little boy slowly got up to his little pudgy legs and started heading back towards the house.

However, the Elric family were very unaware of that calamity was lurking in the shadows...waiting for the correct moment to strike.

* * *

 **A/N: This is the official first chapters.**

 **I tried to make everyone in character, I hope I succeeded. If you haven't guessed, this is my very first Fullmetal alchemist fanfic. I hope you like it so far and review it.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	3. Chapter 2: Nightmare of warning

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

After such a dramatic yet amusing fiasco at dinner, everyone headed off to bed early since Edward was especially tired from the long journey home. It was rather late by the time the two adults had finally dozed off but, little did anyone realise, that this night wasn't exactly pleasant for the poor ex-alchemist.

The room was dark, almost pitch black. The door had been opened slightly should one of the kids need to come in after a bad dream or need help with something, but other than that, everything was dark.

However, despite the somewhat soothing environment, Edward seemed to be having a very bad dream...

He groaned as he tossed and turned in his bed, his teeth gritting and jaw clenching as he scrunched up his face as if he were in bucket loads of pain and agony. His face was tight and he clenched his teeth tightly as he hissed under his breath "N-No," and "Please," over and over again whilst he gripped onto the edges of his blankets.

Winry was asleep next to him, oblivious to her husband's suffering.

Ed kicked at his blankets and let out a frightened squeak as he gripped on tight to his blankets; he shivered as if caught in an arctic wind and his brows quivered from the cold that had encased his whole body like a cacoon. He could hear voices echo in his head as visions flashed before his eyes, which had been encased in a field of pitch black. His breathing was shallow, his eyes were twitching under his eyelids. His jaw was stiff, keeping his mouth wrenched closed but that didn't stop his teeth from chattering nor from clenching.

The man started to become engulfed in a cold sweat as he clawed desperately at the mattress that he lain on top of, unaware that he was soaking the entire bed with his relentless sweating.

In his dreams, everything was far from pleasant.

* * *

 _A figure -presumably a man- cloaked in the shadows appeared right before his eyes._

 _Edward had no idea who they were but he didn't like them, for whatever reason seeing this person made a bad tingling sensation trickle down his spine. But the next scene shown the same man holding up a bruised and battered Winry while Edmund and Trisha lain battered and broken at his feet. It was a vision that made the former fullmetal alchemist gasp with horror and he tried to move and race towards them...only to find that something was preventing him from doing so._

 _His robotic leg was really stiff._

 _"What the...!" Edward's throat clogged up as he noticed that his robotic arm was back and he then tried to move his leg, but to no avail "What is this!?"_

 _"Why so surprised, Fullmetal alchemist?" A strange new voice cooed mockingly "I thought that you were used to your robotic limbs by now..."_

 _Edward growled and looked around, searching for the owner of the voice. He looked all over the dark plain and couldn't find the source and he could only see the forms of his battered and bruised family, plus Alphonse, whom lain broken alongside his wife and children._

 _The ex-alchemist's eyes stuck with tears as he felt his heart stop from having to see his family looking so sore and injured...even lifeless._

 _His golden eyes grew misty and tears threatened to fall down his cheeks in soft little streaks of despair._ _He tried even harder to pull his leg free from the gravity pulling it down and keeping it from moving._

 _"N-no...no...please, no, please...not m-my family..." He murmured brokenly._

 _"Aww. Is the tough shrimpy alchemist afraid?" The voice taunted on._

 _Edward snarled and felt his fists clench angrily at his sides. He could feel his heart building up with fury and he grit his teeth, his eyes turning red from fury as he stomped his non-bionic leg on the ground -a sound that reverberated through the entire empty void- and it even brought the figure out of hiding._

 _"WHO'RE YOU CALLING 'SO-SMALL-THAT-HES-A-FLEA'?! By the way, I'm not an alchemist anymore!" Edward yelled. Subconsciously, he even let his robotic right arm grow a very large blade that looked somewhat intimidating._

 _"Now, now," The voice chided gently, as if he were scolding a child "you should know that I never said that..."_

 _While the blonde-haired man regained his composure, he still kept himself on the defensive as he scowled at the cloaked figure who carried a mysterious aura and he even couldn't help but want to ask so many things about this: such as, why and how this guy could communicate with him on a mystic plain?_

 _It was truly troubling to ponder on..._

 _But then, the strange man started to speak once more. He used a very deathly tone that hung so high in Edward's mind that it made every single word that poured from the unknown stranger's lips seem like a strong echo in his head._

 _Now, Edward wasn't one to take such mind tricks on the chin but that didn't exactly mean that he was unfamiliar with the concept either..._

 _"Just know, boy, that I will hunt you down. You had better keep your loved ones close because I shall come for you and then I will slit the throats of your brother, your wife and your pathetic children."_

 _The ex-fullmetal alchemist gasped with his whole body frozen in terror. He didn't like this man to begin with, he had no idea who he was; he knew that this strange ghostly figure wasn't at all a friend and what's worse, he started to threaten those he cared about._

 _So, narrowing his eyes and gritting his teeth harder, Edward said darkly "If you so much as harm a hair on ANY of their heads then I promise you that I'll find you and hurt you in the most painful way possible!"_

 _The figure, though, didn't seem intimidated in the least. He simply let out an amused cackle as he started to descend into the darkness of this empty void. His wicked laughter echoed throughout the chasm and it irked the young adult alchemist as his chest tightened with fury that this strange man was laughing like some crazed maniac._

 _Edward was taken aback. Why was this man laughing like a loon-attic? Somehow, the former master alchemist couldn't help but feel his throat seize up as he tried to think of the reasons behind this devilish laughter that somehow managed to make his spine tremble once more._ _He tried to demand why this strange dude was laughing but no words would come out, he was feeling numb everywhere because of how intimidated he suddenly was._

 _The dark figure finally ceased laughing as he said darkly, the whole entire plain the two stood on quickly dissipating into thin air "As I said; I will come for you and when I do, everything you ever loved will be mine..."_

 _Ed shuddered, his eyes wide and his face draining of colour. He couldn't make his voice work, no matter how hard he tried, and the images of his deceased loved ones started to assault his vision as some powerful force shoved him so he was so nearly towering over the heap of deceased bodies such as Winry and his children...even Alphonse was in the pile as they all looked beaten and broken._

 _His wide eyes started to fill with tears as the sight tortured him, he couldn't stand to see this! He didn't want to stay in this dream anymore!_

 _"No...NOOOOOOO!"_

* * *

The ex-alchemist shot up with his eyes wide and his breathing shallow. His fist was clutching his chest as he tried to feel his heart and slow its quickening pace, even through his pyjama top he could feel just how sweaty he was and that was when he started to study his surroundings thoroughly as he panted breathlessly.

The master bedroom was a big room with dark red wallpaper pasted across the walls. The floors were made of mahogany wood, a wood so sturdy that even a lightning bolt couldn't break through its defensive strength.

In the room was a king-sized bed -a bed which only had Edward tucked beneath the covers- with thick warm blankets and soft quilts. There was a huge mahogany wardrobe and dressers and even a closet where some extra clothes were kept.

Sunlight beamed through the velvet curtains and made certain parts of the room light up. He could feel soft rays of sun caress his skin, the warmth of the silent beams touching his face.

While Edward was looking and gripping on tight to the blankets, he had noticed that the space beside him was empty, meaning that Winry had more than likely already gotten up. He noticed that the big unadorned window overlooking the peaceful hilltop and field below was left open just to let in some breeze.

"It was...a nightmare?" Edward breathed, asking this question to nobody in particular. He didn't know whether it was truly a bad dream he had experienced so he decided to simply check his cybernetic leg just to be safe.

Anxiously, he reluctantly tossed the blankets aside and looked down at his leg to see if it were still stiff like it was in his experience moments ago; it was pretty stiff, but at least he could move it a tad.

Upon realising this, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when he figured out that it was just a nightmare after all...his family were hopefully alright too.

But, as he ran a hand through his hair, he felt that it had become matted and he even ran his fingers across his scalp whilst he tried to get up and out of bed.

He was sure he looked like a total mess right now...

Slowly, the ex-alchemist started to stand up and stretch his cybernetic leg to try and get it a bit more flexible. It bent forwards a bit and Ed cringed as he felt an unfamiliar searing pain in the stump his robotic limb tried to disguise.

Edward grit his teeth as his spine seized up, making him growl out in silent pain as he reached down and clutched it to try and ease the intense cramps that he felt in his non-existent muscles clench.

"Nnnnnngh! W-What is this, why is my leg hurting like this?" He asked himself in a soft hiss of a whisper.

He squeezed his yellow eyes closed as he tried not to think about it and sweat started to encase all over again, each little droplet trickling down his chilled face. All the colour drained from his face and left a chalk whiteness in its wake.

Edward sighed with sweet relief when the pain suddenly subsided. He frowned with confusion as he found the pain in his robotic leg vanishing as quickly as it appeared and he found his face growing less and less tense until it shifted into one of confusion instead of agony. He kept eyeing his metal leg wearily and skeptically as he slowly started to climb up to his feet and stand on his own.

Ed scratched his head in confusion, frowning.

 _'What is up with me this morning?'_ He thought.

So, gathering his thoughts, the former fullmetal alchemist started to amble out the door of the master bedroom in search of his family, he even started to smell the familiar scent of breakfast down the halls of his cottage home whilst he scrubbed his face with his hands; Edward felt so exhausted despite supposedly having a goodnights sleep, despite the scent of Winry's cooking wafting through the whole house and he even felt like he could slump to the ground at any second.

All he could think about, however, was that guy he saw in his dream.

Ed was deeply troubled by what visions he had foreseen. He didn't know how, nor why, but that dream haunted him and he stopped whenever he started to hear a certain someone shout from the other room that was just down the hall...AKA; the kitchen.

"Edward Elric! Get your lazy behind in here!" Winry fumed, clearly irritable as her voice reverberated through the hallways.

Ed sighed heavily. He had known Winry long enough to recognise when she was grumpy and she was most definitely so right now -the volume and tone of her voice was proof enough of this.

He obeyed Winry's orders and slowly lumbered into the kitchen. His legs felt seriously weak and shaky. Actually, as a matter of fact, he had planned to ask Winry to help maintaining his troublesome leg later that day; it was just heavy to drag around at the moment. So far, Ed had been brushing his metal leg off as just needing some maintenance and some adjustments or some minor auto mail repairs.

...He was starting to doubt this more and more, not that he'd admit that to himself.

"M-Morning, papa!" Eddie's cheery yet stuttered voice chirped.

Edward leaned against the doorframe for support, his eyes suddenly slightly heavy as he forced a smile to his children and his wife.

Trisha sat in her highchair whilst Winry sat in front of her, holding a little plastic spoon carrying mashed peas in front of the tiny girl, while her back was against the stove. The other hand that wasn't feeding the baby was held over the stove and expertly twirling a frying pan which had a flat and rather burnt pancake resting inside the round metal piece.

Next to Winry, sat Edmund whom stuffed his face with black crispy pancake batter which he seemed to have been enjoying as he smiled with his mouth full.

The little boy held a little tiny rubber fork which he used to shovel up the burnt remnants of the supposed breakfast his mother tried to make him.

Edward almost chuckled at the sight but it was then that Winry turned to look at him.

At first Winry looked like her husband was going to be hit by a bolt of lightning but then she saw how he actually looked and she furrowed her brows worriedly. She popped the spoon into Trisha's mouth and let her gnaw on it for a bit as she stood up from the seat and approached the long-haired former alchemist.

"Edward, are you alright?" The mechanic asked, stroking her hand against her lover's cheek "you look exhausted..."

Ed sighed and shrugged nonchalantly "I'm fine, thanks. Just still a bit tired from all the travelling,"

Winry narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. She knew that her husband was lying to her and that this wasn't really why he had a bedraggled appearance, and why he has dark circles around his eyes. His hair even looked more wild and untamed than normal and she knew that was saying something when it came to the long ponytail Edward wore.

However, she decided to come off the subject for now, she knew that Alphonse was returning home and she didn't want to make her husband cranky.

Besides, she noticed that her husband's leg needed some serious work.

So, taking Ed's arm and pulling him towards a seat so he could sit, Winry hurried to rescue her cooking while Edward decided to take over on feeding baby Trisha whom stopped teething on her plastic/rubber spoon and looked pleadingly at her father.

Seeing his baby girl looking at him with such a stare made Edward softly rub tiredly at his eyes and woke himself just a bit more and then studying the way his daughter looking at him with such a begging little face.

His golden yellow eyes shimmered with confusion as he frowned and tilted his head sideways.

"What's the matter, sweetie? Is there anything your ol' dada can give his whiddle princess?" He affectionately cooed and proceeded to give the tiny six-month old a loving nose-rub. When he stopped giving her the Eskimo kiss, the ex-alchemist observed as little Trisha started reaching for something on his right side.

Following the baby's flailing arms, Ed spotted a little jar full of mashed peas which was beside him, left on the surface of the table, with the top screwed off.

The realisation that his baby wanted this hitting him, Edward chuckled softly and tried to blink more sleep out of his eyes as he took the baby's spoon into his possession and shoved the little rubbery piece of infant cutlery into the jar, scooping up some of its contents, before he slowly started to feed the spoonful of mashed peas to baby Trisha.

Trisha giggled cheerfully as her father started to make car noises whilst he popped the spoon into his baby's mouth.

He was so lost in feeding his youngest that he failed to notice Winry smiling sincerely at the scene with a sweet smirk on her face, she seemed to be happy that the children were having a good time with their father.

Six spoonfuls later, Edward hoisted his little daughter out of her high chair and carried her in his arms so he could bounce her up and down gently.

He adored spending time with his children and he sort of hated not spending enough time with them due to the fact that he can be pretty busy with travelling all over the place to further his studies on Equivalent exchange. He worried about his children rejecting him, much like he did with his own father; he wouldn't live with himself should there come a time where his children see him so little that they were estranged from him.

Edward smiled down at Eddie and watched as he leapt off his chair and ran up to his father and holding his arms upwards as if mutedly requesting that he be picked up and held too.

So, smiling cheerily, Edward bent down and obliged to his son's wishes and bounced them both in his arms as he started to walk out of the kitchen and ascend up the stairs. As he walked up the stairs, though, he looked down at both of his feet -both flesh and bionic- and he started to think about that nightmare he had; it was of a man he never met, yet definitely a future threat, warning him that he would come and track him down.

No matter how much Ed tried to convince himself that it was just a dream and this guy never existed, a part of him refused to believe that to be true.

It boggled his mind and Edward hated it when his mind was boggled.

"So, daddy," Eddie's voice broke Edward from his train of thought "Are we going to p'way outside?"

"Of course, your uncle's coming home today and I promised that when uncle Alphonse came home then we'd do a papa-son activity! I would never-" However, he trailed off when he and Eddie noticed that Trisha had started to whimper and whine in upset whilst she clutched her gurgling tummy, seemingly in pain.

"P-Papa, I think Trisha's tu'wing gween!" Little Eddie exclaimed, his spiky blonde hair flattening a tad.

But it was then that Edward heard Winry's voice call from downstairs when the former fullmetal alchemist had finally made it to the stop of the staircase.

His beautiful mechanical-geek of a wife's stern voice echoed through the house and he even listened hard to the question she asked as it made Ed almost freeze.

"Edward, sweetie, did you remember to burp Trisha?"

That made Ed freeze with horror.

Oh no, he had forgotten to burp his daughter! He should have remembered to do that and she was even started to gag and sob.

How could that important task have been left out of his usually sound mind!?

Dreading the next few seconds, Edward looked down at his daughter who was growing greener and greener in the face as her stomach started growling louder and louder, it even started to sound much like the long silky purrs of a pampered cat mixed with the growling of a crocodile! Ed silently prayed that his daughter wouldn't puke on him, even though he knew well enough that he had to pay the consequences of his actions.

Even Edmund seemed to know what was coming as he basically scrambled out of his father's arms and plopped himself down on the floor and he watched as the poor baby girl vomited right on Edward's pyjama shirt. A large green stain soiled Edward's top around the chest area and the poor man with the long hair couldn't help but moan at it.

Oh how loud Edward shouted after screaming like a little girl in response, he was so loud that it was more than likely that everyone in Resembool heard him:

"BLEH! T-T-TRISHA NINA ELRIC, IT ISN'T NICE TO RUIN DADDY'S CLOTHES!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hi, everyone, sorry I took a bit long to update this. I'm still in hospital with a bad tummy and I have been having trouble where to take this. Thankfully, I have got a good idea where this shall be going now.**

 **Anyways, we shall see Alphonse in the next chapter. Just what would a Fullmetal Alchemist fanfic be without Al involved?**

 **We get a slight glimpse of the new enemy and what do you think is going on with Edward's robotic leg?**

 **Please stay tuned and find out. Don't forget to review.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	4. Chapter 3: Alphonse comes home

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

"It's been so long since I've been home, I wonder how everything's going?"

Alphonse wondered aloud as he walked along the pathway with a small frown on his face, his eyes skywards as he thought about multiple things which included alchemy and alkahestry.

He had journeyed through the east of the world whilst his brother took the western route as both Elric brothers travelled through the world to learn all they could, he even decided to take two former military operatives, Zampano and Jerso, with him as they acted as Al's bodyguards. They eventually took off to look for ways to regain their old forms, much like Al himself and Ed had left Resembool all those years ago to regain their own bodies after a terrible mistake they made.

Alphonse had even gained a travelling buddy whilst he stayed in Xing...and much, much more.

"I'm sure that their fine, Alphonse! We'll be there soon!" A certain young lady piped up.

Mei Chang, seventeenth royal princess of Xing, happily skipped alongside the young blonde man whom strolled right beside her as the pair walked in a slight silence that wafted through the air like a heavenly scent that would mix in through the oxygen.

Since the last time Alphonse had seen her, Mei had grown up and was even almost as tall as he was. Her stunted childish figure had even curved out and looked a bit more graceful and flexible as she wore her nice long kimono which had a hem which softly swayed in the breeze.

Alphonse continued to walk and he even spared a second to smile softly at the young lady who he walked with.

He and Mei had been walking for what felt like a century before the young adolescent princess started to wring nervously at her saggy kimono sleeves as she looked down at her feet with her eyes starting to swell somewhat.

Mei stopped dead in her tracks, leaving Alphonse to march forwards a couple of steps before he froze too and turned to look behind him.

The young lady looked distraught all of a sudden, her face lowered to look at the dirt path that rested beneath her feet and her lips pulled into a tight frown as her jaw clenched.

Alphonse looked at Mei for a long time before he started to retrace his steps and go back towards her and see what has gotten the young lady so down all of a sudden. Al knew Mei well enough to know that she was not usually one to just fall under a pile of thoughts and suddenly give into the poisonous thoughts her mind.

Alphonse could tell that something was mentally weighing her down, he could sense it for awhile.

"...Mei? Are you okay...?" Al asked gently, starting back towards the young lady.

Mei was speechless for several seconds as she took her time to carefully select her words to try and tell him in a way that would hopefully convey how she felt.

Al worriedly eased his hand on her shoulder, feeling Mei's shoulder tremble against his palm and he stared sadly at her as she silently trembled out of worry with her face down.

"B-But, Alphonse, what if they..." Mei started to speak softly, only to be cut off by Al softly nuzzling her with the most warmest of smiles possible as he stopped by her side and held her close against him.

Al knew exactly what Mei was talking about. When they had told the now-retired former emperor of Xing (and Mei's father) of the new development, he was less than pleased. In fact he basically forbade the very idea of it and even threatened to sic the royal hounds on Alphonse with so much bile that they would have been torn to shreds if it weren't for their fast feet.

Mei was more than likely worried because of how her father reacted, and it was something Alphonse could understand completely.

Alphonse sighed softly as he softly took Mei's hand in his and allowed his slim fingers to intertwine with hers, both of their hands conjoining and fitting together like two puzzle pieces fitting together in a perfect union.

The younger Elric brother gingerly rubbed his cheek against hers, soaking in the warmth of her body as he closed his eyes in heavy relaxation. The youngest Elric brother had yearned to feel warmth and was very happy to finally bathe in it when he had spent all that time in armour, unable to feel anything or touch anything.

Every time he embraced a loved one or touched anything, he would savour each and every second of it.

He wouldn't give this single moment up for all the sensations in the world, though. Heck, he would even go back to a life in armor if it made the skilled alkahestry-master young lady feel happy. His deepened voice was low and soft as he rubbed his nose against the princess' soft peach cheek.

"Don't worry, Mei, I know that Ed and Winry would be very happy to hear the news..."

Alphonse slowly moved his nose, letting it brush the young lady's cheek gently, and he cooed softly in her ear with his voice smooth and soothing whilst he smoothed her fears, "Trust me, everything will be just fine."

Mei's cheeks turned a shade of red that was akin to a bowl full of ripe cherries and she smiled softly at her lover whilst she let her fingers intertwine with Alphonse's and they both paused to give each other a single passionate kiss before they continued their trek.

"Oh, Alphonse-sama..." She sighed adoringly as she felt a soft brushing sensation as Al moved his lips over to hers and he proceeded to press them against hers. He fought the urge to sigh in contentment whilst he passionately kissed the young lady whom was travelling alongside him.

They were both trapped in this moment of deep bliss...

But both him and Mei were forced to draw apart when a sudden annoyed squeak pierced the air. She and Alphonse both looked down at a cute little Panda who growled in annoyance whilst she folded her tiny paws and tapped her tiny foot against Mei's shoulder, which she had been balancing on the whole entire time. Xiao-Mei was the chubby little bear's name and she was the "practically-life-long-companion" of Mei.

Mei glared somewhat darkly at the micro panda and scolded "Xiao-Mei, you're going to have to get used to this, he isn't going anywhere and neither are you!"

Alphonse chuckled sheepishly whilst he scratched the back of his head as if he were embarrassed to have been halted in his romantic embrace by a cute little panda bear and he even looked somewhat apologetically at a grumpy Xiao-Mei "Nah, it's alright, she's just getting used to the development. I don't mind." As he said this, Al leaned forwards and softly tickled the micro bear under the chin.

Xiao-Mei didn't seem too amused, though.

Mei sighed with a little smile as she watched the scene happily. Alphonse was very tolerant and patient when it came to her companion's somewhat jealous attitude and she could hardly blame Xiao-Mei; the cute panda had been with just Mei since she was a cub a tiny bit bigger than a baby's foot and it must have been tricky getting used to being associated with a big group of people.

She was happy to know Alphonse and she was lucky to even have enough time to take this big step which would define their lives forever, and it was this news that both she and Al were about to tell Edward and Winry. She was anxious about it but she knew that she had to be strong.

So, feeling a certain determination bubble up inside of her, she decided to push things along as she threaded her left arm around Al's right one and started to drag the alchemist behind her.

"Let's go, Alphonse! We're nearly there!" Mei exclaimed happily as she broke into a slight canter with the young man being dragged along.

Al chuckled under his breath at seeing the woman's enthusiasm as he felt his feet pull along the floor weightlessly. There was a mystery of why girls were so much more excitable than boy's and Alphonse couldn't help but ponder on how his sweet little nephew and niece were doing whilst he thought about it; his brother had recently come home, he knew that much all too well, but there was another reason for coming to see Ed and Winry then a simple cordial visit.

He quickly glanced down at his pocket and frowned secretly, mild concern etching on his round face as he tucked the letter deeper into his pocket.

How he had come to acquire the scroll he recalled with precise recollection; Mei and himself had gone to Amestris and were just exploring in a local library and reading some stuff on alchemy when Lieutenant Riza Hawk-eye had approached them both unexpectedly, just as they were about to leave. She had given Al a scroll, telling him to give it to Edward as soon as he was alone with him, and when he had inquired stubbornly of what this was all about, all he received was a glare colder than an arctic wind, it was abundantly clear that she couldn't answer that question.

Alphonse was confused and worried about the secrets the scroll held but didn't question it. He knew that it was important to give it to his big brother the first chance he got, and that was what he was determined to do.

"...Alphonse-sama, are you alright?" Mei's gentle voice broke the silence that lingered between the two of them including the little pet panda who simply whined slightly in worry.

Alphonse blinked, only now coming back to his senses. He hadn't even been aware that he had blanked out for a few long seconds and he quickly shook his head to pull his mind back into the realm of reality.

"Yes, I'm fine..." He replied, looking back into the blue distant horizon that lined each side of the narrow strait of a path the duo walked on.

He had to admit that the view was stunning and beautiful, the fields of grass slowly swayed in the wind and the branches of the trees also made a beautiful cacophonous noise that sounded like wooden wind chimes.

The skies were blue and there was not a single glimpse of white fluffy cloudiness hanging in the skyline.

He succumbed to the need to close his eyes and let out a sigh of contentment as he felt the wind embrace his face in a gentle brush and tousle his bronze/blonde hair. He had not felt more at peace with the world since the day he had had his body back, the very same day their whole adventure had ended. He wanted to just fall back and look up at the sky, he didn't know why.

Even with his eyes closed, he knew where everything was. He knew this path and everything about it by heart, he even subconsciously made a mental map of where it led to and where it took him every time he travelled upon it. Even though it was always towards the same destination.

But, before Al knew it, he was walking again.

Unbeknownst to him, Mei had took his arm and proceeded to once again drag him down the path with a look of bold determination and excitement flashing inside her beautiful eyes. She wore a smile full of glee and Xiao Mei mirrored her owner's expression so well that you could even argue that she had gotten each and every inch of the girl's expression was just like looking into a mirror.

Albeit, the reflected image being that of a tiny panda bear.

The little cottage where Edward and Winry lived soon came into view and, right after seeing it in the brilliant golden splendour of sunlight, Al and Mei and Xiao Mei took off down the path as they broke into a very fast sprint with their legs carrying them as fast as they could without their minds taking control to command them.

Neither Alphonse nor Mei wanted to stop as they huffed and puffed, their lungs burning for oxygen as their legs made the duo take on speeds rivalling that of a speeding train engine.

Both Alphonse and Mei came to an abrupt halt the second they both arrived at the doorstep of the little cottage that was nestled at the top of the hill in Resembol.

They both took notice of a mass of black fur drag itself on all four limbs, one of those said limbs being auto mail, and the black dog with a white muzzle and cute face revealed itself to the two home comers. Its folded ears flicked and its ancient tired eyes lit up like a candlelight being lit by a simple match.

The dog barked with a happy wag in its tail.

"Hey Den, I'm home!" Alphonse knelt down and braced himself for the mutt diving at him and started yipping and bounding on the youngest Elric brother as if the man would vanish into thin air at any second. The three-legged dog pinned the young man down by the shoulders and licked his face enthusiastically.

While Den licked his face repeatedly, the older dog's barking alerting the family of four to the door as the children happily leapt out the door and made their way to Al while Ed and Winry were next to rush over to the trio of man, woman and cute little panda bear.

"Alphonse!" Ed cried out, embracing his brother faster then anything.

After Trisha had vomited on him, Edward managed to get changed out of his pyjama shirt and into something a tad more presentable. He wore some new black trousers and he wore a dark brown cloak which had been dressed under a plain white T-shirt.

"Unca Awphonse!" Edmund chirped joyfully, running up to his uncle and wrapping his little arms around Alphonse's leg in a tight hug.

Winry and Trisha greeted Mei and did so by shaking her hand up and down while the baby giggled happily whilst flopping a chubby arm in the young woman's direction.

A joyful chatter took hold of the big group and they all stood amongst each other happily, catching up on the latest updates with one another. At first it was all about menial details and stuff, such as little snippets of what both Mei and Al had learned during their travels and talking about the sights they saw when they travelled across the Eastern boarder of this world.

They were all quite happy to chat about what had happened during the countless amount of travelling but it didn't take long before the outdoor chills had started to get to them.

Alphonse shuddered a bit, hugging his own arms to try and warm himself up from the sudden cold temperature that encased his pale skin. He ducked his head and wrinkled his nose as he wrenched his jaw to keep his mouth clamped shut and prevent everyone seeing his teeth chattering from the sudden draft that his face caught in.

Winry noticed this and laughed light-heartedly whilst she clapped her hand on Al's back, bouncing baby Trisha in one arm as she did this, and she suggested warmly "Why don't we just go inside and warm up by the fire, we chat more in a minute,"

Everyone conceded with nods, sounds and etcetera before they started to make their way inside the house.

Alphonse picked his young nephew up into his arms and carried him indoors as he turned to face his big brother with a timid smile, sniffling a bit coldly as he started to speak.

"Good idea! We have some big news to tell you guys, too."

Ed smiled happily and helped his brother inside, "Okay, let's get inside an' catch up."

As the Elric family started to go inside the cottage to get some warmth from the blustery day, each of them were blissfully unaware of an upcoming danger which would more than likely change the course of the Elric brother's lives.

It was a danger that would be stronger than anything, stronger and more powerful than any enemy that was ever faced. It would bring about something that would force both Ed and Al to go on a travel which would begin the chronicles of a brand new adventure and it would promise to be an experience that nobody could hope to forget.

It would be this danger, that would change everything.

* * *

 **A/N: That's the end of this chapter, we see that Alphonse and Mei make a return but something is probably going to happen soon...I think the summary is a dead giveaway to what the event is.**

 **What do you think Mei and Al's big surprise is?**

 **What do you all think of this fanfic so far?**

 **Please review.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	5. Chapter 4: Fears of flames

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

"YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!?"

Both Edward and Winry's shouts could have probably been heard throughout all of Resembol as they sat in front of the fireplace whilst getting toasty warm. They stared at Alphonse and Mei as if they were about to be hit by a instantaneous bolt of lightning.

Alphonse and Mei locked hands as they both looked down at Ed and Winry from the comfort of the sofa as Al gave his partner's hand a light squeeze to reassure her that everything would be alright, given that she was still anxious about Ed and Winry not taking the news very well.

Poor Mei had been very jumpy since her father had forbade her to marry a mere commoner, an alchemist, and he adamantly refused to have Alphonse become a future prince of Xing.

Alphonse didn't care what the emperor thought, though, all he wanted to do was make his fiancé happy and make sure that she was well-cared for and he knew that Mei's father wasn't exactly one to let his family do what they please.

Alphonse nodded, a proud grin on his face, "Yep, we were thinking of getting married sometime in three months or so. That'd leave us plenty of time to plan everything."

Al observed as his big brother stood up and seated himself on the left side of him while Mei sat on the right, still clutching on tight to his hand as she hid her face timidly behind his shoulder. Alphonse couldn't help but grin cheerfully as he felt the weight of his brother weigh down the side of the sofa so he could sit closer to his little brother.

"Atta boy, Al! Never thought you'd get married like this!" Ed exclaimed, giving his little brother a playful punch on the shoulder. He couldn't have been happier to hear that his baby brother was actually starting to settle down, just like he had. Ed had no doubt that Alphonse would be a great father, he was already a good uncle to Trisha and Eddie since he would actually play with them and even tell them stories about his travels and stuff like that.

No doubt about it; Al was a natural with small children, he was quite patient and had a pleasant warm aura surrounding him whenever he was around. No doubt he'd make a good father one day.

Al smiled warmly when he knew he had his big brother's support; Mei and himself might have been anxious about the reactions to hearing the news of their engagement but he was happy to have his big brother's blessing at least. He was barely aware that both Mei and Winry were having their own discussion about how the wedding was going to play out, both occasionally letting out trilling girly squeals of rejoice about everything frivolous and wedding-related, especially the floral arrangements...and Winry even brought up the topic of mechanical devices somewhere in the conversation.

The youngest Elric brother looked down at his knee, the one which was bouncing his little niece on top of it, and he looked to his left leg to find that little Eddie was peering over it with his big blue eyes filled with innocence staring right up at him with a big timid smile widening on his little face.

"U-Unca Al, are you r-really getting married?" He asked, standing on his tip-toes to look his uncle square in the face. Eddie's big eyes glimmered in the light coming from the cracking warm fire that burned in the fireplace and left a gentle soothing atmosphere pouring into the room.

Alphonse gently reached forwards and playfully ruffled his little nephew's darker blonde hair, messing it up underneath his palm as he made the little boy giggle in delight; Al turned his gaze to the little baby girl that he still bounced on his knee and watched with a smile as he replied with a very cheery nod of the head.

He reached over and clasped Mei's hand, which he noticed caught her attention as she smiled over at him and squeezed his pale skinned hand tight in response.

"Yep! Mei's going to be your Aunty, wouldn't that be fun?" He asked, delight shimmering inside his hopeful and innocent eyes as he watched the boy nod back at him with a big grin on his face. But Al found his focus directing away from the children and back over to his wife-to-be when he noticed that she was looking at him in a way that he just couldn't help but fall for as he noticed that she was smiling.

He smiled very, very softly in a romantic manner as he captured her hand in both of his and time seemed to have slowed to a near stop as the two lovers stared very compassionately into each other's eyes. Their breathing softened, their gazes melted and their grasps softly tightened and their fingers laced and hooked around each other in order to intertwine.

Alphonse could swear that he felt his heart beating loud in his ears as Mei's face filled his vision and he felt like could have stared at her for all of eternity if he wished to.

"Alphonse! Earth to Al!" Edward's voice called out, snapping Al from his state of adoration as he snapped his fingers loudly to try and break that rather odd look of total captivation that his little brother had suddenly took on.

Al blinked several times, shaking his head rapidly when he heard his big brother's voice. He frowned heavily when he found his grasp on reality returning and he looked over to Winry, the children and Ed whom all stared at both him and Mei as if they had just ran off a cliff.

He smiled sheepishly and slowly raised his head to nervously scratch at the back of his head whilst he gazed away from his brother and sister in-law with blush lines starting to colour his cheeks a vibrant scarlet. "Oh, um, sorry...b-brother..."

Ed couldn't help but smirk in response as he rolled his eyes. It had been obvious to him that his little brother had a soft spot for the princess of Xing and ditto for the young royal, nothing surprised him anymore when it came to those two and seeing Alphonse look so happy and smitten over the woman he loved made Edward feel genuinely happy to see that his brother had found happiness.

The moment was disturbed, though, when a sudden cooing sound filled everyone's ears and all eyes were on little Trisha as she looked curiously down at the tiny panda Xiao Mei whom sniffed curiously at the baby.

Trisha started to point one of her chubby arms at the miniature panda bear which flopped about unsteadily as she tried to touch the creature, but the panda seemed to have been slightly reluctant at fist as she kept her distance from the infant.

Upon realising that she couldn't reach the cuddly animal, Trisha started to whimper as her eyes overflowed with tears and her face screwed up.

Edward moved to take her off of Al's lap but he was gently restrained when Alphonse swiftly placed a hand on his shoulder, obviously pausing him from doing anything for whatever reason, even the girls stopped their girly gossiping to watch this scene unfold before them as Winry scooped Eddie up into her arms and set him down on her own lap so he could see too.

Trisha's big blue eyes were filled with tears as she sobbed and sniffled, stretching her chubby outstretched arms as far as they could as she tried to hold Xiao Mei but the panda still kept its distance.

The panda, though, looking concerned for the baby, hesitantly approached the snivelling infant and crawled over Ed and Al's laps to try and head towards her with a worried look on her fuzzy round face.

The little panda eventually found herself in front of Trisha and reluctantly leaned forwards and lightly licked her cheek, making Trisha blink several times and before she looked at the little fuzzy panda whom softly smiled at her before Trisha lightly giggled and tossed her pudgy arms around Xiao Mei, startling the little bear but making everyone go "Aww" at the heart-lifting scene.

Alphonse chuckled and leaned slightly forwards so he could scoop the little girl up and he held her by her underarms, lifting her up so they could meet face-to-face and he smiled brightly at his little niece with absolute pride shimmering in his golden irises.

"Oh, aren't you a good big girl?"

Trisha squealed in delight as her uncle bounced her gently whilst he held her high in the air, the little girl seemed to cheery right now as she gurgled and warbled a trail of gibberish nonsense whilst she reached out to touch Al's face with a fully-blossomed smile that could potentially make hearts melt into puddles.

Suddenly, though, Winry piped up as she stood up and took Trisha into her own arms as she cradled her little clone in her arms.

"C'mon, boys, its time for my two little ones to have a nap..."

Ed and Al's faces drooped a bit with disappointment.

They wouldn't have been telling the truth if they said that they wanted to spend more time with the children.

Without a word, Winry scooped up both Edmund and Trisha into her arms and proceeded to carry the two little children out of the room and up the stairs. The young boy was weakly insisting on how he wasn't sleepy at all, even though his droopy eyelids and constant yawning told a different story entirely.

Ed and Al smiled gently, watching as both the children were hoisted in each of Winry's arms and they started to be carried off out of the room. The children looked like they were just about ready to drop off to a deep and dream filled slumber...maybe not Trisha, but still, it was more than likely needed. Trisha was just as stubborn as her father and never gave in to anything until she would succumb and satisfy whatever need her teeny-tiny body is craving.

But the ex-alchemists son's head dropped and his eyes were very heavy, although he wanted to know something before he nodded off. "Daddy...are we...s-still...going...t-to pway later?"

Edward simply chuckled and gently tousled the boy's spiky dirty blonde hair and spoke to him in a soft yet loving tone that actually sounded quite soothing. His warm golden eyes were as soft as cotton balls.

"Of course, Eddie! Uncle Al and I will play with you after you and Trisha take your nap. I made a promise that we'd do a cool activity and I don't intend on breaking it."

Of course, the boy didn't respond since he had fallen asleep halfway through his sentence. It made Ed's heart of full metal melt into mush and he just couldn't resist the urge to brush his fingertips in a feather-light stroke across the boy's forehead and it seemed to have made the sleeping boy gently smile in his slumber.

Winry sighed tiredly and kissed Edward on the head, smiling gently at her husband before she started to casually saunter out of the room. "Edward, dear, why don't you and Al go get some more firewood for the fireplace?"

It was transparently obvious that Winry's demand was thinly disguised as a suggestion -she probably wanted the two siblings to go out and have a chance to catch up.

Upon hearing the metal geek say that, Ed and Al cast their eyes to the fireplace and noticed that the flames that were ignited were dying out. The firewood had been reduced to cinders and black smouldering chunks that were still carrying traces of embers that had obviously been fairly recently left as some sort of residue.

The former alchemist looked over at Alphonse whom only shrugged nonchalantly in response.

But he looked apologetically over at Mei whom only looked rather sadly back at her fiancé. The engaged couple both stared at each other for a second or so before Mei asked with shame shimmering in her sweet loving eyes, vaguely aware that Xiao Mei started to climb up her back and perch on her shoulder.

"Shall I go back to Xing?" She asked.

Alphonse nodded and clasped her hand in his.

"I think that's what's best, Mei, somebody has to go and plan the other wedding stuff and besides, you never know when trouble might strike and the people need you."

Ed was shocked at how his little brother was handling this. He was acting very mature, of course he was a tad more grown-up then his big brother but he seemed to have known exactly how to make sure he made the choice that would benefit the good of everyone.

This was fuel to the belief that Alphonse would make a great future prince of Xing!

"I'll see you later, Alphonse-sama." Mei murmured as she gathered her bearings and climbed to her feet and readjusted her kimono slightly. She even started to admire her engagement ring that rested around her index finger and it looked like such a pretty thing; a genuine amethyst that twinkled in the faint light of the lamp that hung overhead.

Alphonse softly kissed Mei on the cheek and held her hands in his until she decided to grab some of her own accessories that had been taken upstairs before she departed for Xing so she could take care of things back there and arrange stuff for the wedding.

But Al knew that this was his only chance to give his brother the message he had been entrusted with.

There could be no better opportunity.

* * *

Edward and Alphonse each carried a bunch of firewood as they walked and chatted amongst each other, almost staggering underneath the weight of the twigs and chunks of wood as they felt the cool autumn wind caress their faces.

As the Elric brothers walked alongside each other after their scavenging hunt for wood, they both smiled as they felt a familiar presence in the air. It made them feel at peace somehow and they couldn't help but smile even wider every time the wind gingerly rushed passed them in a feather-light embrace the two men would be instantaneously reminded of their mother...and their father.

Ed decided to speak up and break the silence.

"So, little bro, you excited about settling down?"

"Yeah! I'll still do some travelling every now and then but I'm happy that I'll have a wife to come home to." Al grinned cheerily.

The ex-alchemist chuckled jovially. "Who knows? Maybe you'll hear the pitter patter of tiny feet someday, someday very soon!" He even playfully punched the younger man on the shoulder for the second time today.

Al couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's playfulness as he rubbed the shoulder that had just been punched, flinching.

But he knew that he had to give his big brother that note he had been entrusted with, now that they were pretty much alone and all and he could think of no better time then right this second as he suddenly took on a more serious posture.

All at once a long and awkward silence had stiffened the air around the two Elric brothers.

Edward continued to smile but his yellow irises flashed with slight concern when he saw how silent his baby brother was being. He eventually frowned himself and tilted his head slightly to the side with confusion etched on his face, he didn't speak but all the confusion was instead reflected inside his golden-yellow irises that shimmered softly like gold being kissed by the softest beams of sunlight.

"Actually, brother, there was another reason I needed to see you..."

The younger man put down his stack of wood so he could pull out the important message stuffed in his pocket and present it to its recipient.

Alphonse, catching on to his older brother's confused gaze, stuck his hand into his pocket with a heavy sigh and proceeded to remove a scroll and hand it to Ed whom only continued to stare at it with confusion as he took it into his own procession and held it in his own hands.

Edward had no idea what this scroll was doing in his little brother's pocket but he continued to look at it as if it were going to decide his future. He took in every single detail of the rolled up piece of parchment; he took in the golden sticks that would unroll the scroll, revealing its contents, he studied the deep shamrock green ribbon tied around it -especially the cute little bow included- and he noticed the little military seal stamped upon the ribbon.

Ed had no doubt that this was important and something about all of this made him hesitate to open it. He didn't know why but the atmosphere was kind of unsettling and Al's uncomfortable silence made things even more frightening.

The ex-alchemist swallowed as he shakily unrolled the scroll and started to slowly read it.

His eyes were non-blinking and wide as he examined every single nicely-scribbled word in the letter, taking the time to study each sentence of the neat punctuation that had bore into the beige paper scroll as the golden rolls shimmered like a brand of fire in the sunlight.

But Edward's breath started to catch in his throat and his skin turned from a healthy peachy colour to a deathly shade of white.

His breath started to shift into a trembly gasp as he felt his grip on the scroll tighten with the sound of crackling paper piercing the eardrums of both brothers and spoiling the otherwise silent atmosphere as Ed's face turned into one of mortification, an eerily familiar look which Alphonse never wanted to see on Edward's face again.

That face was eerily identical to the one when he realised that Nina had been transmuted into a chimera, it was a face that haunted Al's memories and he already regretted asking the question since it rolled off his tongue before he could stop it.

The younger Elric brother blinked with concern washing over his face, a pang of dread hitting him in the heart.

"What's wrong?"

Edward didn't answer his worried baby brother. He could just feel his mind and heart race as if they were running a ten-mile-marathon and his eyes stung as he couldn't even blink, his eyes were wide and his mouth had dried up to rival a crumbling canyon ravine that had seen no water in a very long time. This letter...this letter contained some very disturbing stuff about an alchemist on the run...

Eventually, his grasp on the scroll had weakened to the point where the scroll dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. As the obviously important scroll fell to the ground, Ed choked back a swallow as his mouth trembled and his hands started to shake.

Al knew that his year-older brother didn't normally behave like this. Ed would never look so scared, let alone act like he was. Something was obviously wrong and it was all tied to that scroll which had come from the military...but something in Alphonse's gut told him that something more was going on, something which would frighten Ed so much that it would be enough to shake the earth.

The younger brother decided to repeat his question.

"Brother? What's the matter?" Alphonse tried to keep the fear out of his voice, he looked down at the dreaded scroll that Hawkeye had handed off to him back in Amestris and he couldn't help but feel a dark aura surround it as it just made a very unpleasant sensation trickle down his spine.

Al couldn't even imagine the lightning storm of emotions that Edward must have been going through as they streaked like lightning in his mind -he was petrified out of his mind, whatever that message said must have struck a powerful nerve and made the ex-fullmetal alchemist flip out as if he had just been told that the world was going to end.

Alphonse could do nothing but watch as Edward started to race down the path, abandoning the firewood he and the eldest of the Elric brothers started running as fast as he could, he sounded like a steam train as he ran so fast that he was even growing red in the face from just how much he was dashing. Edward was rushing off back towards the direction of his family house, he looked so close to just passing out he was running so fast.

Alphonse quickly gave chase, worrying for the exact same reason his brother was, and he could swear that worry and adrenaline was building up in but he didn't even get to take a big breath before he and Ed started to feel the air begin to grow scorching hot. A very ominous fiery orange glow rose in the distance and the air around them stiffened when Ed and Al raced frantically, specs of embers floated around.

It didn't take long for the Elric brothers to halt dead in their tracks as they finally reached the house but what they saw made Ed completely freeze in terror.

His home was engulfed in flames.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry this took a bit to complete. I am still not feeling great and I'm having some trouble updating and everything, it's not very good.**

 **Dont worry, hopefully the next chapter will be up a lot sooner.**

 **Al and Mei are getting married and now Edward had a major crisis on his hands: his family home is on fire and his wife and children's conditions are unknown at the moment! This is where things get interesting.**

 **Ed also learns of that new mysterious threat. Who is it and what will happen next? Stay tuned and find out.**

 **Please review.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	6. Chapter 5: Heart of the missing

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

 _Bump-bump. bump-bump. bump-bump. bump-bump._

The pounding of his heart was the only sound that Edward could hear as he was numb to everything else except that constant yet ceaseless drumming. He was as still as a tombstone as he watched the house burn with wide eyes that were so lifeless that he was numb to everything going on surrounding him. His face was hot, he couldn't feel very much at all.

He could not feel anything except for a deep dread that started to fill up his pounding heart.

The flames were eating away at the nice little home he had learnt to call home and smoke billowed out from the windows, filling the air was both a frightening warmth that was so hot that it made the air around him sizzle and ripple.

He could feel his heart stopping as he stared at the house with eyes filled with terror and his breathing became shallow as his mind started to race.

Who could have burned down his home, why did they do this? What became of his family?

But then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

His wife and children...they were probably still in that house!

He started to take a running step but Alphonse quickly reacted and grabbed his big brother's shoulder to try and talk some sense into him, knowing exactly what he was just about to do "Brother, please be rational! For all you know they might not even be in the house!"

Edward glared darkly at his little brother "And what if they are? Am I supposed to just let my family die!?"

Alphonse yelled back, his eyes narrowing a bit "I'm not saying that at all! If you go in there, you could die too!"

Edward and Alphonse's argument was cut short whence they both heard a startled high pitched cry and they looked back at the house with worry etched all over their faces and they noticed that the fire seemed to grow more intense.

"I'm sorry but I'm not waiting! I've gotta go in there!" Edward exclaimed as he raced right towards the flaming house. He had a look of fiery determination shimmering inside his golden eyes as he made the maddest dash he had ever made in his whole entire life.

Alphonse sighed. He knew that he could not argue with his big brother about this anymore and reluctantly agreed that his big brother should go and rescue his children.

"Alright, brother. Go and rescue them, but be careful. I'll try performing some transmutation to douse the flames!"

Edward didn't need to be told twice as he took off faster than a starved race horse that had just seen a pile of oats. He had a look of pure fright fixed on his face and he even seemed to have had his heart sucker punched by the very thought of his wife and children being in mortal danger.

Al watched after his brother and prayed with everything he had that Edward wouldn't find the bodies of his family.

* * *

The young man squeezed through an open window as he forced his way into the burning house. He promptly fell and landed on the floor with a heavy thud, but he got a good long look at what used to be the inside of his home.

Edward's heart froze inside his chest and he felt like he had just been struck as a sudden sharp pain swiped at his heart and his eyeballs strained from how wide they were as he had to see everything smouldering and burning into lumps of ash and blocks of cinders and specks of embers were flying all over the place. Not to mention how massive the flames were, they were tall and spread like cancer.

There was nothing that wasn't being eaten away by the flames downstairs!

He had to blink multiple times to let the reality sink in, but then he recalled the urgent situation at hand and shook his head to snap himself out of his state of shock so he could focus.

The ex-fullmetal alchemist pushed himself to his feet before he started to frantically search for his family, should they still be in this flaming remain of a house.

His heart was bursting and he felt like he was having a nightmare that he wanted to wake up from but couldn't. As a matter of fact, in Edward's perspective, he was LIVING the nightmare!

He didn't want to lose his family, he couldn't!

He worked way too hard to get this far in life and there was no way he was going to let it slip through his fingers.

The flames were vicious as they ate away at the foundation of the house and the smoke was powerfully toxic and burning hot so when Edward was unfortunate enough to inhale the smoke, he coughed very roughly to try and force it back out his lungs as it burned his trachea.

So, clutching his throat in an attempt to soothe the burning, Ed stepped over the piles of charred wood and was careful not to let any of it get anywhere near his automail leg. He feared that if the flames got a hold of them, then he would end up either dragging a dead weight behind him or be stuck with a normal stump.

Ed squinted his eyes due to the smoke making it hard to see through and he coughed when the somewhat toxic smoke filled up his lungs and irritated both his lungs and his eyes, making the whites of them go all red and bloodshot as little bits of ashes stung his eyes.

Coughing heavily and rubbing his eyes with a sleeve, the former alchemist looked around and called out "Winry! Kids! Where are you!?"

He carefully weaved through obstructions and made sure to evade getting anywhere near those powerful flames. He knew he had to keep an eye and ear out for his dear children and his beloved wife.

But it was then, much to his relief, that he heard a response to his cries of desperation.

They seemed to be voices. They sounded muffled but what they were saying was almost clearer than the most pristine of crystals and it was clearer than a bell.

"H-H-Help!"

The ex-alchemist gasped with his breath knocked from his chest as he instantly recognised that cry for help. That voice filled with innocence, that voice filled with youthful life but it was a voice that also sounded extremely frightened. Ed registered everything carefully as he let his legs jerk into motion, his robotic leg slightly stiff from the low maintenance it had received, and raced through the relentless flames that continued to eat away every bit of the house.

Ed worried that the ceiling above him could give way at any time now...

He cautiously jogged steadily up the stairs in such a frantic climb that he almost tripped over his own two feet before he tried to get a good assentive on where his wife and children were. But he had to worry about his children, first.

"EDMUND, TRISHA!" He yelled as loudly as he could, stopping to try and exhale the smoke building up in his lungs and making his voice strain from the acid of the fumes in the air that had taken to singeing his poor throat.

He leaned heavily against a beam for several seconds, putting a fist over his mouth to let out several coughs before he stepped over a multitude of burnt debris and fallen beams that had obviously collapsed from the ceiling due to the fire eating away at every splinter of wood that the house was made from.

The frightened calls of his children eventually led the former fullmetal alchemist into his and Winry's bedroom towards a closet which was supposed to store a multitude of clothing items.

That's not the only thing it was keeping, it seemed...

Taking a good look at what was once the master bedroom, Ed gave another cough and his poor bloodshot eyes stung from the tears mixing in with the ashes already irritating his poor eyes.

The king-sized bed had already fallen to the floor as the legs had been burnt to a crisp, looking just about ready to fall through the ceiling and heavily drop to the ground below. Flames were decorating the ceiling and burning the room, eating away at each layer of wood that was the floor. Edward hoped beyond hope that the ceiling would hold at least he got his children and wife to safety.

All of the furniture had been burnt beyond recognition and all the personal belongings and cherished keepsakes that the family had accumulated over the years had obviously been destroyed by the villainous fire attacking the house.

Ed shook his head and decided to just hurry up and rescue the two little kids who obviously needed his help!

So, running towards the closet and throwing the door to it open, the worried father felt his breath hitch when he saw his poor son and daughter tucked away in the back. They, too, were mostly unharmed by the fire but their eyes did look irritated and they looked terribly shaken up.

"P-P-P-Papa!" Edmund cried out, tightly holding little Trisha close to him even though the baby was half his height. The poor little boy's voice was strained and raw from the smoke that filled his lungs and he looked to be on the verge of crying while Trisha was screaming so hard that her own voice box was beginning to strain.

Without wasting another moment, Edward bent down and picked both his son and Baby girl up and out of the tiny room and he gently murmured to them whilst positioning them so their faces were pressed against his chest "Just try not to breathe anymore of that smoke in, alright?"

He heard some soft whimpers of agreement and then Ed went to investigate the window since he had seen something blowing in the breeze from there, only for a split second, though. He didn't waste time and went to investigate the window and what he found made his heart stop.

The only thing that wasn't touched by the fire was the window, which had been left open for some reason. A little piece of fabric was even caught fluttering in the breeze.

Somehow it remained clean and pristine and it looked untouched by the fire and the smoke, it actually made Edward breath a slight sigh of relief as he knew that Winry had gotten out mostly unscathed since this little lock of hair wouldn't be there otherwise...however he was worried about a few things.

Why escape through an upstairs window?

Edward knew that Winry more than likely escape the fire before he had even arrived, but he was more then able to squeeze through a downstairs window at the time.

Secondly, why didn't she take the children with her? Edward had no doubts in his mind that Winry adored the children just as much as he did and she would have escaped with them. That wasn't like Winry to leave and forget about them.

Last but not least, where was she now? Why hadn't she come and found them when the fire started?

Edward had a feeling that the children know the answers to all of those questions but he didn't plan on interrogating them now.

The ex-alchemist took off towards the direction of the stairs. He never recalled running faster than he had at that moment, especially with his robotic leg stiffly harmonising with his hurried running.

He could even feel his lungs burning so much that they could rival the fire that blazed all around him, he was in so much panic that he could swear he was ready to go into cardiac arrest since his heart was beating so wildly.

But, when he got to the stairs, he was in for a proper shock:

The stairs had burnt to a non-existent crisp.

Ed grit his teeth and cursed under his breath when he noticed this. Now there was very little chance of escape from this fire...other than the window up in the bedroom, the one Winry had obviously escaped through, and he was very worried of how that would go. He had a feeling that if he tried to jump out with Trisha and Eddie then it would end up very badly.

But what other choice did he have?

"Hold on, kids, I'm getting you out of here!" He made a quick spin on his heel and took off back in the direction of the master bedroom so he could jump out the window and pray that he wouldn't become a flat pancake with his kids on impact. He wouldn't let it happen but he was worried about where it would go.

He could feel the frightened sobs of Eddie bump against his chest occasionally whilst the frightened toddler clung to him tightly whilst poor Trisha just continued to wail as loud as her little lungs could manage.

It was something that made Edward's racing heart ache but he knew that he had other things to worry about. He couldn't hesitate now, he couldn't afford to. He just clenched his teeth and glared with hard golden eyes at the window as he ran towards it with his grip on the toddlers tightening with each leaping stride he made to the open window.

So, out of sheer desperation, Edward squeezed his eyes shut as he mustered up as much energy as he could and prepared to leap.

Time dwindled down into slow motion as he focused on the window and he basically charged at the open window and leapt out of it, inadvertently taking Winry's lock of hair with him.

He noticed that Alphonse wore a panicked expression as he noticed his big brother falling down to earth with both Trisha and Edmund cradled in each of his arms.

Alphonse didn't seem to want to spend anymore precious time either so he quickly dropped down to his knees, drew a circle in the mud and slammed his hands on the ground within a timespan of 3 seconds.

Just before Ed could fall completely to the ground, a big cushion materialised out of nowhere and the older Elric brother fell on top of it and heaved a huge sigh of relief as he knew he finally got out of the house. Both his children seemed horribly shaken up, though, as they continued to cling on to him as tight as they could with their faces still buried in his chest.

Al didn't say anything as he went to help his brother stand but only for the man to give him a look that told him not to take another step towards him as Ed stood up unaided and he proceeded to try and calm the two down himself.

"It's okay, it's alright now, I've got you...D-Daddy's got you..." He tried to soothe the crying toddlers as he rocked them both in each of his arms to try and comfort them, nuzzling them both as he tried to hide the upset tone quivering in his voice and hide that he was just as startled as his frightened children were.

The former fullmetal alchemist just knew that Eddie and Trisha were more than likely traumatised by the events which had transpired today. He couldn't blame them, Edward felt just as shocked as they did about what had happened this evening. He didn't know what happened to their mother but he couldn't find her anywhere in that flaming disaster of a house.

Alphonse watched his brother cry silent tears of hurt as he tried to soothe his two sobbing kids by murmuring to them that everything was alright and that he was there and would never leave them go, promising that he would be there and keep them safe.

Al felt seriously hurt by his big brother shedding his emotions like this. Since as long as he could remember, Edward had always been the big strong boy out of both of them and he always acted like a tough guy and even liked proving his heroism time and time again, he even fought off bullies every chance he got to try and prevent someone from picking on either Winry or his baby brother when he was a boy.

This was the man who fought defeated father and the other humonculi, for goodness sakes!

Now, here Ed was, several years later, silently crying salty tears of grief as he tried to console his children.

Alphonse could practically feel how much this was hurting his big brother and even if he was trapped in the life he had once lived, just after both Ed and his mother passed away from an epidemic that glided through the air like a stream flowing flawlessly through a thin river creak, he would willingly go back to the life he had with his soul stuck in that armour without the ability to properly feel anything if it would restore the hope in Edward's eyes.

Even from where he was standing, he could basically tell that Edward was in so much pain that their home and personal belongings had just been lost.

Not only that but Winry has gone missing...

Choking on tears of despair, Ed gently cradled Eddie and Trisha in his arms to try and get them to stop crying. He tried to smooth his voice down enough to try and calm them but his efforts didn't seem to be very effective whilst he bounced on his feet, rocked his torso from side-to-side and started to try quieting the pair with a series of gentle shushing. His voice was a gentle tremble.

"D-D-Don't cry, guys, I promise you're safe now, just please don't cry..." He pleaded as he paced a bit, his voice raspy thanks to his sore throat, continuing to try and comfort his children as if to try and hide his own despair.

Ed sniffled softly as he gently peppered each of the toddler's faces with small kisses whilst he squeezed them just a little bit tighter, trying to reassure himself that at the very least his kids were still there and weren't going to drift away from him the second he released them.

"P-Papa..." Eddie whimpered, burying his face in Edward's chest. Ed simply hugged them tight and didn't say a word. He simply patted and rubbed soothing circles on his son's back.

Al knew it wasn't safe here for the children and only by moving would their spirits be only slightly lifted since they needed a proper place to regain their bearings and talk about what happened. He decided to finally cut his big brother off from his grieving as he hesitantly approached Edward and gingerly tapped him on the shoulder.

Upon feeling the gentle feeling of his brother's fingers make contact with his shoulder, Edward gently regained his composure as he looked over his shoulder to stare his little brother right in the eye with a very pained look inside his reddening eyeballs that were clearly trying to hold back tears of sorrow.

"Come on, Ed, it's not safe here..."

Al spoke softly as he exchanged a saddened look with his big brother.

Ed sent a long and hurt look to Alphonse before he finally gave a slow and single nod of concurrence, this wasn't the place nor the time to stand around sulking. They had to seek out somewhere with a nice a comforting environment and they needed to relax so they could figure their next move.

There was no time to lose so the two men started a lonesome walk away from the cottage and went to find Pinkako, Winry's grandmother, in the old automail shop. If Winry DID run away from the fire, that would be the only other place she would go. But the brothers had their doubts because Winry would have taken the baby and three-year-old with her.

The two silently glared ahead into the night with their minds racing.

They didn't know what had happened but the Elric brothers started to realise that this was _not_ an accident.

* * *

 **A/N: This is the end of this chapter. It seems something has happened but we don't know what the mystery is behind it...unless the summery is a clue.**

 **Next we shall see what happened while Ed and Al were gone to get the firewood and then we shall maybe start to begin this epic adventure.**

 **Stay tuned!**

 **-Chloemcg**


	7. Chapter 6: Hopeful hearts

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

Edward and Alphonse both stood around in a hallway, looking like lost little bunny rabbits in a field as each of them carried one of the older brother's children; Ed held Edmund and Al held Trisha.

The Elric brothers tried to relax after what had happened tonight and they tried to piece together the puzzle of what had occurred.

After vacating the flaming house, Ed and Alphonse had migrated into the old Automobile shop to try and get some comfort and some things packed for the long journey they had no choice but to go on; Winry had apparently been kidnapped since they couldn't find her anywhere and Ed wasn't about to let anyone get away with stealing his wife away. After the two they got the details of what exactly happened, Ed planned to get to Amestris where he and Al hoped to find the Colonel and the former hoped to see if they could get any information out of him about this new threat that the scroll had mentioned.

They planned to stay until nighttime so they had plenty of time to pack some spare clothes and other accessories and such and even plan some transportation from the local train station.

Whence the Elric brothers had finally finished packing, however, another big problem occurred: both of the little children were crying as loud as they could and shivering from the shock and trauma they undoubtedly felt.

Pacing around in circles, Edward patted his son's back gingerly and repeatedly as he walked with an expression of exhaustion and slight weariness.

Alphonse did the same, except with his niece, and he had a look that mirrored his brother but without the weariness as he tried to soothe poor the little girl who screeched right in his ear.

The two youngsters had been going at this for almost an hour!

"P-Please stop crying, guys, I'm begging you..." Ed pleaded softly, his voice strained from how tired he was whilst he patted his little son's back to try and calm him down.

The little toddler, though, didn't listen and just continued bawling out of grief for what had happened and, honestly, Edward couldn't blame either of his children for being like this; their mother had just been kidnapped and they had lost their home, they were also cold and hungry so they had every right to be frightened.

"What're we gonna do, brother? Neither of them are calming down..." Alphonse sighed as he held on to Trisha just a bit tighter, trying to rock her from side-to-side whilst she wailed as loudly as she could over his shoulder.

The tiny baby shivered in her uncle's arms as the wailed as loud as her lungs would let her, tears streaming down her cheeks as she was obviously in distress.

Al gingerly hugged the infant over his shoulder and softly patted her back to calm her down, but to no avail. She just continued to cry and bawl repeatedly with tears endlessly streaming down her small pudgy cheeks, Trisha looked absolutely distraught and her small voice was even so hoarse that it was mellowed down into a tiny squeal.

It was obvious that she was still yowling as loud as she could, though.

Edward didn't respond since he had just started to ponder on what he could do, he was the father of the children and he should know how to calm them both down.

He smiled just a bit when an idea dawned on him.

"Al, would you mind transmuting a cradle in here?"

Alphonse looked at Ed as if he had gone insane for a second. A cradle? Well, he kind of had to since the ex-alchemist couldn't do it for obvious reasons and if it would bring some peace and quiet then he was willing to do anything right then.

Alphonse quickly handed Trisha to Ed before he proceeded to kneel down to the ground with a face full of concentration. He removed a small chunk of wood he had managed to keep in his pocket and he placed it down on the ground, not before drawing a small alchemic circle around it.

He closed his eyes and focused on something deep as he let the energy flow through his hands, partly oblivious to the fact that the circle he had drawn was glowing brightly as the wooden chunk had vanished in a puff of smoke.

So, opening his eyes, Al carefully stood up and admired his instantaneous handiwork as he beheld a small cradle which was a bit small but it could hold little Trisha inside of it.

Removing Eddie from Edward's care, Al watched carefully as his big brother knelt down and carefully lain his crying daughter inside the cradle and started to gently push the headboard as it started to tip from side-to-side as to rock the infant resting inside.

Edward smiled gingerly as his daughter finally stopped crying and gazed up at her father with teary eyes, her lips trembling as she sniffled and sobbed. The poor girl seemed to be slightly upset but at least she was calming down. Trisha eventually yawned tiredly as her eyes started to grow droopy and she cooed, softly gripping Ed's finger as she started to drift off to sleep with a peaceful little gleam in her eyes.

Even after she dozed off, Ed didn't stop tipping the cradles weight from side-to-side, he just wanted to keep doing it just a bit longer, even though his legs were starting to cramp due to the awkward posture he was having to sit in at the moment, he wished he could do this for the rest of his life -he still loved his children and nothing would change that.

But he felt responsible for the misery they were feeling.

Ed smiled even more upon seeing his daughter now calm and peacefully content. He gently swept some of the girl's fringe aside and kissed her forehead with a smile of adoration tugging at his lips.

"That's my girl..."

That was one of his children pacified, now he just needed to calm his son.

"Uncle Awphonse...d-d-dad..." Eddie murmured whilst shivering frightfully in Alphonse's arms.

Edward felt his heart break towards his son. Edmund must have been positively traumatised by what had happened and he seemed to have been crying and shivering non-stop since he and Trisha had been rescued from the blazing building they once called home. The poor boy sniffled and continued to shake, clearly petrified beyond words.

Actually, he may have already been losing some of his sanity.

The boy had always been a shy and jumpy little kid, always frightened of his own shadow, but never had he been this bad before.

Edward shrugged off his jacket and delicately lowered it on his son's shoulders, proceeding to bundle him up in the piece of clothing and then gingerly sitting him down on his knee as he tried to calm the boy down by stroking his head and repeatedly cooing in his ear, holding him close and tight.

The ex-full metal alchemist done this two minutes before he noticed that Eddie's whimpering had started to die down just a bit as well as his shuddering. He finally decided to slowly ease his hold on the boy and he started to ask what he wanted to know.

"Alright...can you tell me what happened after Uncle Alphonse and I left?" Edward asked as delicately as possible.

Ed knew that the poor boy was probably feeling very frightened by whatever was going on. He could hear the boy sniffling and judging by his breathing pattern, he was on the verge of hyperventilating and possibly going into a panic attack as he clung on so tight to his father that he was basically and almost literally attached to him. He was very hard to pry off.

Eddie calmed down enough to answer, though, as he gripped tight on to the jacket that had been wrapped around his small body and squeezed his watery eyes shut at the memories that flooded through his little mind.

He choked on his own words for a moment before he finally forced himself to speak, albeit his voice was very strained and squeaky as he spoke.

"A-A-After you weft, M-Mama suddenly heard the door making loud sounds and she went to a-ans-s-swer it," Edmund's eyes continued to glisten with tears as he recounted what had happened, especially the vague parts "s-she had just woken us up from our sleep and p-put us in the little room, s-she told us to stay in there and n-not come out until either she swaid so or Daddy came back."

Edward and Alphonse listened intently to what the tiny little boy said, hanging on his every word. From what they were hearing, they imagined that Winry had known that danger was literally knocking on the door and she awoke the children from their naps and hid them inside the closet so she could confront said danger without dragging the children into it.

What this danger was, though, puzzled Alphonse but Edward seemed to have a good idea what or who they were dealing with.

Al cast a quick glance over to his brother and noticed that he had a darkening look on his face as he listened. He was desperately confused, just why was his big brother looking like that? Why was he acting so strangely ever since that...! It was then that the pieces of the puzzle clicked in the younger brother's mind as he realised that all this had to have been connected to that letter.

He knew that he'd have to ask Ed about it later...

But then Edmund continued "We h-h-heard some loud sounds, and then we heard a clapping sound and t-then the h-h-h-house started to go on fire!"

This last bit was truly disturbing to hear. A clapping sound and then the house burst into flames? That sounded very familiar, way too familiar. That couldn't be...the only one who knew flame alchemy would have to have been the flame alchemist himself. Neither of the Elric brothers spoke a word as their faces paled, the colour draining from their faces as they came to the realisation that they REALLY needed to go to Central and have a good long chat with Mustang.

The colonel was not only the future fuehrer but he was also the expert of flame alchemy; there shouldn't be anyone with any knowledge of flame alchemy and the colonel wouldn't stoop so low as to burn down a house and kidnap Ed's wife...no, scratch that, he would never do such a thing!

But they were brought back to reality whence they heard the sharp and heavy inhaled sobbing coming from the tiny child. He was sobbing as he clung on tightly to his father, trembling and shaking as he cried himself hoarse.

"I-I-I'm so s-s-s-sorry, daddy!"

It was a heartbreaking scene as the two Elric brothers watched.

This strange foreign danger that lurked had struck already and done so in a way that hurled Edward in the deepest and darkest holes of emotional agony imaginable, yet he knew this pain...and he knew he had to be strong.

He had to be strong for his son and daughter right now, they took up top priority now; both Winry and himself had agreed that their children's well being was to be considered more important than themselves.

So, gently prying an hysterically crying Edmund away from his chest, Edward frowned a little firmer bit at him and started to stroke his head while he ordered directly yet softly, "Look at me."

The boy wiped his eyes with his tiny pudgy arms, still sobbing and shivering uncontrollably.

Ed gripped on to his son's shoulders and got him to stare him right in the eye so they met each other's gazes -sharp golden eyes meeting heartbroken innocent blue ones.

"Edmund, I know what you're going through. You feel like your whole world had opened up from beneath you and you fell into a deep dark hole. You try and try to claw your way out of that hole and you feel like nothing can fix it."

Edward managed a small but a heartfelt smile at his son, his golden eyes shimmering with goodwill "But listen. There's no such thing as a painless lesson, they just don't exist; but sacrifices are necessary and you can't gain something without losing something first."

Little Eddie looked right into Edward's face, tearful eyes wide with intrigue. Even Al was looking at his big brother as if he had gone mad and he seemed somewhat confused about something.

The former alchemist continued speaking regardless, "Although, if you can endure that pain and walk away from it, then you'll have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle."

The little sniffling boy blinked. He didn't know whether it was the way his father spoke or if it was the words but something clicked inside his head just then. His young brain couldn't comprehend just what he was being told, he couldn't simply latch on to it...but there was something that made the boy feel a hint of hope and he finally spoke with a hiccup.

"R-Really...?"

Ed, closed his eyes and nodded, gently rustling his son's head and making him smile just a bit "Yes. A heart made fullmetal..."

Edmund looked down at his own lap as if to ponder on what exactly he was just told. His mind still couldn't comprehend much of what had just been spoken to him yet he found those words spoken by his very own father had given him just a little bit of hope. It may have been about the size of a grain of sand but it was still there and he wasn't about to let it slip from his little pudgy fingers.

Ed looked down at his son and brushed his finger along his scalp whilst he made a promise "Look, we'll go on a trip to save your mother. Until we find her, you have to stay strong for your little sister, alright?"

Eddie didn't even hesitate to nod as he smiled a bit for the very first time that night. It was a small smile but it was a smile nonetheless and Ed couldn't have been more prouder, and more shocked with himself that he had actually spoken in such a way. He had to wonder if he sounded too corny or anything, he knew that colonel Mustang would never let him live it down...

Eddie's eyelids seemed to droop heavily as they covered half his eyes.

"U-Um, alright, dad..."

Edward patted his son's back gingerly and let him close his eyes gently whilst the boy lain against his chest. The former was feeling a bit more relaxed now that his son had calmed down but Al seemed to be very impressed with how he handled that.

He sat down beside his older brother and smiled at him gently as he patted his shoulder in a praising gesture.

"That was the right thing to do, Ed, good job."

Edward nodded at Alphonse and looked down at the boy snuggled up in the oversized jacket. The child seemed to have been a bit more at ease with the situation as he had clearly fallen asleep, the soft and gentle snoring being an indicator of this.

The former alchemist exhaled softly as he kept his eyes on the little toddler whom had been bundled up.

"Thank you, Al. I just couldn't let the little guy blame himself for something that was out of his control. He reminded me of..." He paused, glancing off to the side with hurt in his eyes "...me on that night we tried to bring or own mother back."

Alphonse looked down at his lap for several moments in deep thought. Ed must have been reminded of the beginning of that journey four years ago, of when they lost their mother, of when they tried to bring her back and Al lost his body in the process. Ed traded both one of his arms and one of his legs and had them replaced with cybernetic limbs. What's more, they burnt down their home to forget about those dreaded memoirs that had defined them.

That fateful night, Edward had very nearly been so traumatised to the point of giving up on everything.

It was after meeting the colonel and major of Amestris that those fires of hope returned to Ed's eyes and they started their long trek to get their bodies back all by themselves.

It had been long and perilous yet, somehow, they had clawed their way through tremendous heartache and laughed through the good times and cried at the bad. They managed to accomplish it all in the end, even discovering that sometimes even the truth was very hard to reach.

Al's eyes lit up like candlelights and he grinned as he patted Ed on the back supportively "But those kids have something we didn't, brother: a father to help them through the pain."

Ed smiled a tad upon hearing that. Just after returning to Resembol, they had learnt that Von Hohemheim (their father) had died right by their mother's grave. Even though the man hadn't been there physically, he had been in the background supporting them...even if he was depressingly hopeless sometimes.

Hohemheim wasn't there.

But he was.

He wasn't going anywhere.

The former fullmetal alchemist held his son just a bit tighter and he exhaled heavily whilst he pushed himself up from the seat and got to his feet, the sounds of his automail leg creaking as he stood up, and he looked over at his little brother with eyes full of wistfulness and a frown filled with determination.

"We have to pack up. I'll go and ask Granny to help with my leg and pack up some stuff for the kids."

Alphonse took a sleeping Eddie from Ed and nodded dutifully "And I'll go and book a train."

* * *

"Are you sure you should take the children with you instead of leaving them here with me?" Pinako inquired as she glanced over at the two brothers.

The duo along with the children had all stood outside the door, looking the little old lady in the glasses lens. The wind gently blew at their hairs, making them bristle against the cool night breeze. Ed carried Eddie with one arm and held a big suitcase with the other, Al carried Trisha who had been bundled up in a blanket to protect her from the cold.

Needless to say, Ed was very eager to get going. They were just about to leave in search of answers and, hopefully, Winry.

Edward nodded his head stiffly with a firm frown.

"There's a new threat hunting me and everyone I love, I think it would be safer if they came with us and I don't want them hurting you either."

The old woman almost didn't believe what she heard. It was unexpected to hear that come from the very same man who she would insult and he would insult back, albeit in a somewhat friendly manner, and she could tell by him saying this that whatever situation this was that it was then it was severely important.

"...Alright." Pinako heaved a heavy sigh, retrieving a pair of scarfs from one of the pegs before she headed back towards the boy's and handing each long piece of material to the young men whom were just about to leave, with the children already fast asleep in each of their arms.

Ed frowned as he arched a brow curiously as he looked down at the little old woman who proceeded to remove her glasses and wipe at the lenses with her cotton apron to try and make sure her vision would be well-cleansed.

Upon opening the door, a cold evening draft engulfed the whole entire home and made the inhabitants shudder.

Pinako looked up at Ed and Al whom looked back down at her, the silence between the three of them was greatly disturbing and it even made Edward nervous. The children continued to sleep away in the silence of the outdoors, subconsciously clinging on to their respective guardians whom only stood as still as tombstones.

Ed took the scarf uneasily and wrapped it around his own neck, being careful not to move around too much and wake Eddie. He was happy to be all packed, yet he worried about the impending threat and he dreaded meeting them face-to-face.

Especially the person intent on hurting those close to the former alchemist to get to him.

Alphonse had no idea about it either and, knowing he will be demanding answers very soon, he decided to explain when they were on the train.

Pinako shook her head and sighed whilst she regretfully hung her head low, she said solemnly "Please...just be careful, boys, and bring my granddaughter home safe and sound..."

Ed clenched his teeth, his eyes widening and starting to water. He tried to smile to assure her but he couldn't bring himself to do it, he tried to bring hope to her but he was quite close to crumbling emotionally.

He even took a moment to look down at his hand, where a familiar lock of yellow/blonde hair lain in his palm unharmed and untouched.

He closed his fist over the strand of hair and spoke "We will."

Within seconds, the ex-fullmetal alchemist made started to walk in a hastened pace out into the wilderness.

After wrapping his own scarf around his neck, Alphonse looked out the door with wide eyes; He was shocked his older brother could move so fast, he had to wonder how he had managed to gain that energy. He supposed that he just wanted to avoid anyone seeing him cry again, being a father was supposedly something that could make a man do anything as long as he had his family in mind.

But Alphonse was very concerned about his big brother, he was worried that Winry's disappearance was affecting his mentality greatly, but what was more was that his niece and nephew were probably even more traumatised by the evenings events and that doubled with their mother's unknown whereabouts.

Trisha was still cradled in Al's arms and the baby started to whimper as she squirmed and stirred in her sleep. Her little face was tight and tears threatened to seep through her closed eyes and trail down her little pudgy cheeks. The poor little baby seemed to have been having a nightmare and Alphonse would have never wished this upon any child, especially if the children in query was his nephew and niece.

So, lifting the baby up so her face could become buried against his shoulder and he started to gently sway on his feet as he calmed her. He gently cradled the tiny seven-month-old infant before he repositioned her in one arm and popped her green dummy into her mouth so Trisha could contently suck on it.

Ed somehow managed to salvage at least one thing from the devastating fire.

So, satisfied that the 7-month-old was a bit more content, Alphonse then started to go after Edward whom was probably far ahead of him by now.

He nodded gratefully at the little old woman and proceeded to walk out the door and try and catch up with Edward by breaking into a steady jog as if to avoid tripping and dropping the baby he carried. He sighed as he felt the cool night air brush his face, ruffling his blonde-bronze hair as the moist breeze dampened his scalp a bit whilst the wind kicked up some leaves that were on the ground, the leaves that had been left over from autumn.

The younger brother eventually caught up and both Ed and Al were walking alongside each other on the long dirt road. All was silent and somewhat peaceful as they both glared determinedly at the road ahead, determined to set things right.

The Elric brothers knew that this journey would be long and Alphonse knew that Ed would stop at nothing until he had his wife back safe and sound. But Al also knew that Edward was going to have to fully embrace the idea of being a father now, a single parent for now at the very least.

But they had hope that Winry would be found in Amestris under the care of Mustang and Hawkeye.

The two brothers knew that as long as they stayed together then they could accomplish anything, they were a team.

* * *

 **A/N: Alright. First things first. I have to ask if you recognise one of those sentences in this chapter, namely Ed's. I just thought it would be cool to add in there for some reason.**

 **Anyway, we might see Mei in the next chapter.**

 **I hope you all like this story so far and I hope to see more reviews, I love those.**

 **-Chloemcg**


	8. Chapter 7: Caged

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

Winry Rockbell became conscious to a sudden pain in her head, a throbbing stabbing pain that pulsated through the delicate nerves and inner workings of her brain. She didn't know exactly what to make of it since her whole entire world was black from a viewing perspective. She had yet to fully awaken, though, so it wasn't that awfully surprising that she could only see black.

She softly opened her eyes, her vision foggy due to fatigue, and she slowly turned her head towards the left to look at her surroundings.

Even though she could barely make out a thing, Winry took note of the fact that she was laying on something cold and hard and she was definitely not in her home. Perhaps she wasn't even in Resembol anymore...

She deduced that she might have been sleeping on a floor of some sort.

"Nnnnngh...where...where am I?" She asked, slowly raising herself into a sitting position as her blurred vision whirled.

But she didn't count on her stomach twisting as a sudden wave of nausea gnawed at her intestines and that made her fall back down to her tummy as she coughed and spluttered.

She didn't think that would happen.

Winry figured that she had been drugged before she had apparently passed out. The fact that her body felt like it had been shaken about and had been left quite drowsy proved this fact, she even still felt whatever tranquilliser still flow through her bloodstream as she steadily recovered.

She slowly leaned back against the wall for support as she dizzily raised her hand to wipe some strands of her long blonde hair out of her face. She could feel her stomach turn whilst she sat up but she tried to ignore this since she couldn't let herself purge her stomach...not yet, anyway.

Winry blinked several times before she warily looked around for anyone who could possibly tell her where she was and everything else she wished to know. Her mind may have been a bit foggy but she knew she had to find out where she was by doing a simple investigation of her surroundings which didn't offer anything of visual interest.

There was very little light that let her see much.

The automail mechanic finally managed to get herself sitting up without being overcome by a wave of dizziness as she continued to look around for something -anything- that could tell her where she was.

"Hello? Anybody there?" She called out, her voice leaving a subtle echo to reverberate through the concrete/cement walls.

Bright blue eyes narrowed with steadily increasing frustration, Winry decided to take a different approach with her surroundings as she very slowly stood up. Her back slid up against the wall as she used it as a means to keep herself standing but she found that a sharp pain shot through her legs and arms as she tried to find out as much as she could about wherever she had been taken.

Her mind was becoming more and more alert as more time of her being conscious slipped by and she started to take notice of how exactly she was being confined.

It seemed that she had been tossed into a cell of some kind.

It was a cell which was a small square-shaped space, perhaps around 70 inches in width and the space itself just seemed to have been in a simple cube shape with not much space. The back walls were made of dark grey concrete and the floors were made of some sort of craggy stone material and in the front was a neat alignment of steel bars that looked stiff and seemed to have been quite tough to break.

The only things in the room furniture-wise, was a bed and a toilet and a sink.

A cold draft blew through the space and it made the woman shudder.

Winry looked down at herself and was quite shocked at what she had been changed into. She now wore a crisp white gown with short sleeves to leave her arms bare and susceptible of goosebumps and the dress trailed all the way down to cover just below her kneecaps and her feet were bare.

She looked like an escaped hospital patient in her gown.

So, finally deciding that she had to get to the bottom of this, Winry lunged at the bars and gripped on to them tightly with her eyes filled with unbridled anger and confusion towards her situation.

But she felt her wrists burn with pain and her legs wobble beneath the force of her body slamming aggressively against the bars of the cage that had clearly kept her captive.

"Alright, where am I!? Come out and show yourself!"

Winry was thankful to know that her calls hadn't gone unheard but she scowled darkly when she saw a haunting figure make their way towards the cell she had been crammed into, but the woman felt her chest turn when she noticed the aura surrounding this strange man whom had clearly abducted her.

It was a very powerful feeling that he had given her and Winry even felt her spine quake as a single shiver crawled down the vertebrae of her spinal cord, she didn't even know how such a man would make her feel this way.

However she refused to be intimidated.

She demanded "Alright! Who are you and where am I?!"

The hooded figure didn't answer that right away. Mayhap he wished to let the forceful inquiry sink in or maybe he wanted to give himself a moment to collect himself, but whatever the reason it greatly irritated the already-irritable Winry.

She narrowed her eyes even further to make her scowl darken as she tried to discern the man behind the cloak yet all she could manage to make out was the faint trace that his eyes were a sickening neon green colouring whilst his tone was suave and sort of gentlemanly. The flicker of light allowed her to make out a signiture smirk.

"My dear Winry Rockbell, or would you prefer Elric, you needn't shout like this as you are perfectly safe with me..." Through the darkness of his cloak, he smirked cruelly "...for now anyways."

Winry was taken slightly aback. This strange man somehow seemed so calm and disturbingly cool, it was as if he had seen the scariest thing ever and was so traumatised that nothing could top that level of scariness. Not only that but there was something about this man who leaked a near frightening presence and she felt like she couldn't escape his gaze, no matter how hard she tried.

But she wished to know what he meant by that last part.

"For now?" She repeated, still on the defensive "what's that supposed to mean?"

The strange figure didn't respond.

Winry just glared back at this person, getting increasingly agitated with his vagueness. Her mind was spinning and she was really wanting to understand what was happening right now because she was more than certain that this guy had some intention behind kidnapping her, but she still felt sick and her head had felt like it had cracked.

This dark space, this prison cell, this entire situation was beginning to hurt the woman's head whence she would try and comprehend all of this. But she also tried to comprehend the personality of this strange yet silent man who had presumably been keeping her prisoner.

This was strange and Winry didn't know whether to be frightened or annoyed by this whole predicament.

The whole entire space was silent and Winry felt her feet shuffle along the cold stone floors, the tips of her toes being sharply poked by some hay that had been strewn along the floor previously. She felt her head pound, making her head duck in between her aching shoulders, before she stomped her foot down in a tantrum.

But then her eyes widened only whence she recalled her children and her husband, her heartbeat quickened and her throat tightened up. It was tight enough to almost choke her.

"Where are my children?"

Her worry increased tenfold when the man didn't answer her again. Her breath hitched in her throat and her mouth became dry, her eyes stuck and her stomach twisted. Winry wouldn't be able to live with herself if her beloved little children had...she swallowed and she felt a part of her die when she thought about it.

She became more forceful as she stomped her foot a second time and shouted through a trembling voice "T-Tell me!"

The man remained silent, although he apparently wore a snide and rueful littld grin.

Winry could feel her eyes sting as they started to water with irritability and worry for her babies. They had been left inside the family home and the last thing she could recall was the man clapping his hands and the house combusting into flames.

That sounded an awful lot like Flame alchemy, yet she thought that Colonel Mustang was the only one who knew how to use it.

She shook her head, her blonde hair shaking along with it, and she scowled at the man who kept her prisoner.

"No...they are with Ed! I know they are!" She shouted, her eyes narrowed with determination. She refused to believe that they were dead.

"And you are right, your children are perfectly unharmed," The disguised-in-a-cloak man's unfaltering smile grew "but perhaps we should get you something to eat since you might be a bit peckish..."

Winry growled internally.

She knew that this man just wished to remove her mind from the well being of Phil and Trisha and she couldn't help but feel her annoyance grow tenfold, but she couldn't deny that she was a tad hungry for something and the fact was announced when she felt her stomach clench and churn painfully as if to remind her that she hadn't eaten a thing.

She hated it. She hated that she had to be shown up by some evil madman who had captured her and put her in some kind of cage like some sort of wild animal or chimera.

But, despite her pride, she couldn't think of any escape plans on an empty stomach.

She looked down with embarrassment as her stomach growled loud, a dark shade of crimson tainting her cheeks as she blushed and tried to look away to avoid embarrassing herself further.

"Um...I supposed I haven't eaten at all today..." She muttered, only for the man to whisk himself away before she could say anymore.

Her eyes widened and her cheeks burned with humiliation and shock as the man started to descend down the endless labyrinth that looked like some kind of hallway or such.

It was kind of hard to tell in the darkness of these gloomy dungeons. It was then that she wondered if there were any others trapped here, much like she was. Her heart sunk when she saw that the floors were decorated with human and animal skulls and other bone fragments.

The automail mechanic shuddered just thinking about it.

But as the figure walked away, he smiled sadistically with his eyes glowing a menacing evil green colouration. It was clearer than glass that he was trying to be creepy and intimidating and, as he turned to face her once more, he started to give out a cackle so loud that it echoed throughout the whole area and bounced off the walls to give off an everlasting echo in this harrowing place.

"Enjoy yourself, my dear...you may be here for a long time yet..." He murmured evilly.

Winry rolled her eyes and grumpily stormed back over towards the cot of the cage. Actually it was a stiff metal rectangular piece sticking out of the wall like a slate, some flannel blankets lain upon it to make it look more inviting.

With nothing more to do Winry then started to inspect what she figured was going to be her temporary home until she could escape; there was a big desk she had failed to notice before and a candle rested upon the oak surface, its tiny flame flickering to allow some light to illuminate this quiet space. There was some sort of mangled wooden object that sat on four legs that she guessed was a chair of some sorts but it looked like that if any weight were to be applied to it then it would be naught but a heap of mahogany wood on the ground.

In a corner there was even a toilet and what looked to have been a bookshelf.

Winry sighed at her boring space. There wasn't even that nice welcoming scent of oil in the air and that was just downright depressing since she would go crazy if she had no metal to work with; she supposed that if she had been given automail then it would aid her with an escape but still...

That was then she started to think about her situation.

She didn't have much to do other than think and she couldn't help but worry about her son and daughter, but she also worried about Edward and Alphonse who she knew must have found the two. She knew her husband, he would jump off a thousand cliffs if it meant to save his family...even if he was an alchemy freak at times.

She slowly sunk down on the cot, wincing slightly when her knees hugged the thick piece of metal and from the cold it emitted.

But then she looked down and sighed "I hope Edward and the kids are okay..."

She shook her head and looked off into the distance and stared with fury-filled eyes whilst she smiled determinedly to herself. No, she wasn't going to let herself be taken in by this stranger who had locked her up like some bird and she was going to do whatever it took to get out of there.

"Alright, I'm not going to just sit back and cry like some prissy damsel in distress! I'm just going to think up ways to escape!" She announced to herself, smirking proudly.

Winry had no idea what exactly she was going to do but she was going to bide her time, though.

* * *

 **A/N: Alright, sorry if this was a shorter chapter than normal. I have just had a bit of writers block and I'm writing much better now...as long as I don't suddenly have writers block again, my tummy hasn't been much help either since it still constantly hurts.**

 **I can't do anything about that, though, unfortunately.**

 **Alright this is where we see what happened to Winry. We still don't know much about our mystery villain and Winry seems to be quite mystified about him.**

 **Lets see where this goes, shall we?**

 **Stay tuned for another chapter and please review.**

 **Btw, what have been your fav moments so far?**

 **-Chloemcg**


	9. Chapter 8: The beginning of a journey

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

Edward never felt more tired than he did right at that moment as he and Alphonse stepped into the train station, dragging along an exhausted three-year-old along behind him whilst Al carried a sleeping six-month-old.

The two Elric brothers had only just started to wander on their journey to find Winry. She appeared to have been kidnapped by some mysterious foe and Ed and Al were determined to find her and bring her home to Resembol so she could be back where she belonged.

Ed opened his trap to yawn sleepily and felt like his whole entire mouth had been sucked dry of any moisture that should have been there, even his throat had been rendered dry and scratchy so he could hardly speak. He slowly raised his hand and deftly wiped his brow whilst he tasted nothing but the tangy taste of his salty sweat that dribbled down his face. His hair was like a birds nest, his eyes were glazed over, beads of sweat stuck to his skin and dark circles looped his eyes; the ex-alchemist didn't even pay much attention to the boy he dragged along behind him whom was basically falling asleep on the spot.

Poor little Edmund groaned as he sleepily rubbed his eyes and gave a small yawn whilst he leaned against his father for support with his this absent-minded glassed over look present in his bright blue pools that shimmered like gold in the harsh sunlight. His hair frizzed and his tiny legs flopped in all directions as he dangled a bit whenever his father would take a pronounced hop in his step.

Alphonse took notice of his big brother and his nephew's exhaustion and frowned.

He didn't like seeing his nephew and his brother in such a state, he opened his mouth to suggest something but only for him to flinch when he suddenly felt his stomach clench and churn from hunger to remind him how long it had been since he had last eaten something.

His eyes widened and a heavy red blush had coloured his cheeks; this made him remember that he now needed to put something in his mouth and wasn't trapped in a suit of armor that needed no proper nourishment.

This reinforced the fact that he, and probably Edward too, needed to sit down for a bit.

"Brother." Alphonse piped up whilst hoping to lighten the mood "We haven't had any substance in awhile, maybe we should get some rest when we get on the train?"

Edward only replied to his brother's suggestion with a slight nod and a very subtle groan whilst he continued to drag his son along like a little dolly. His golden eyes were heavy and his frown was even more so as he felt like he hardly could let go of the overwhelming worry he felt for his dearly beloved despite the short time he had spent panicking over her wellbeing.

He felt determined to get Winry back home where she belonged yet he didn't feel anything else beyond that.

A very long silence passed as the group just carried on walking, even though the train they wished to catch was now in their sights. It was a red speed train that rested alongside the boarding platform and the steel that covered the big bullet-like locomotive seemed to have been strong and sturdy. The doors had been left open and was waiting for the Elric brothers and children to board it.

It was only the simple matter of handing their tickets over before they were able to do so without much trouble.

But, as they were about to step on to the train...

"ALLLLLLLPHOOOOOONSE-SAMA!"

"Oh no." Alphonse blanched as he recognised that usually cheery yet bubbly voice which had been toned down so anger could replace what cheerfulness which would be normally there.

Before he could register anymore of what was happening, someone had tackled him to the ground and pinned him down. Alphonse struggled under the weight of this person whom he had now identified as his future wife, and he grimaced when he saw how furious she looked. A burning flame of anger had been ignited inside her eyes as she glared daggers at her poor fiancé.

"M-Mei! What are you doing here?" Al exclaimed, trembling under his wife-to-be's powerful hold as she kept him on the ground, "I-I thought you'd gone home to Xing!"

"I heard what happened, Granny Pinako told me over the phone! Why didn't you tell me what happened and then I would've just ran right on over! WHY. DIDN'T. YOU. CALL. ME!?"

Alphonse winced when he heard the fury reside in Mei's tone. She never ever sounded as angry as she did now and he could almost swear that if she was able to then she would have gone for his throat right about now, he even broke into a cold chill just thinking about it whilst he lain on the ground with Mei laying on top of him. Mei's tone was dark and low, like the oh-so petrifying hiss of a venomous snake and her onyx eyes started to glow a deep dark red whilst she looked straight into the frightened eyes of Al.

Alphonse stammered and fumbled to try and answer her, trying to smooth the fear from his voice but all he got in response was the harshly demonic scowl that Mei was wearing as she crinkled her nose in anger and frustration.

She started to go on a rant but was stopped short whence a small cry broke the tension.

Al, Ed and Mei all turned to face the direction of the cries and saw that Trisha was still in Al's arms and had not only woken up but she was also starting to whine with a slight scowl on her sweet little face. Mei and Alphonse obviously awoken the poor girl while the former was shrieking at her husband-to-be.

Mei calmed down immediately after she saw the baby crying and practically snatched her right out of Al's arms and started to readjust her in her arms. The green clad infant sniffled and sobbed as she looked tearily up at her Aunty-to-be, tears shimmering inside her soft little blue eyes.

"Aww, you poor thing! I forgot that you and your brother have probably been traumatised to death!" She cried out whilst squeezing Trisha to the point that her eyes were bulging out of her skull from being squeezed so tightly. She let out an annoyed noise as she struggled to get out of her aunty's tight grip, giving the occasional mini growl of frustration.

Alphonse didn't say a word as he quickly leapt back up to his feet and watched with surprise at how quickly Mei's attitude had changed. He knew that she had an attitude that could switch at anytime given any situation, like how one minute she would be fawning over him and the next she would be crying her heart out with grief whenever she thought that he was cheating on her with Winry.

He loved her with all his heart but sometimes his fiancé could be a bit clingy.

While Al observed this from a few inches away, he watched as Edward stepped forwards and put Edmund down and he took Trisha out of Mei's death grip before she could inadvertently strangle the baby to death by crushing her.

Ed held his daughter for several moments whilst he used his extra arm and hand to rub at his temple and prevent the chances of an oncoming headache and he sighed when he noticed that his son was trying to hide behind his leg.

Edward couldn't help but roll his eyes at this whilst he glanced down to his little son and stepped aside as to allow Mei to see him in full light. Of course the little boy looked like a deer in the headlights when he was no longer concealed by his father's leg and even felt his posture grow rigid when the grip he had on the black trouser leg slipped right out of his fingers.

Eddie looked up at Mei and let out a squeal of shock when the young princess of Xing quickly took the boy into her arms and proceeded to coddle him in the most humiliating manner conceivable. He squirmed and wriggled to try and worm out of his aunty's tight cuddle and he even started to go red in the face as he flapped about in a futile attempt.

He even let out some pleas and cries which went mostly unheard by the woman.

"Aww don't worry! Aunty Mei is here, and she's not going to let her cute little nephew-to-be go so easily~" Mei purred as she nuzzled her cheek against the child's squishy yet thin face.

Edmund's expression soured as he flapped around even harder than before "H-Hey! Don't c-call me c-c-cute!"

Al couldn't help but glance over at Ed with an amused smirk curling on his lips. Like Edward's hatred of being called little -the reality the elder Elric brother hated facing- it appeared that the boy had inherited a similar hatred for another similar term of endearment: Cute. The boy didn't like being referred to as cute yet everyone had called him that anyways, everyone except for his parents that is.

That was the only trait that Eddie had inherited from his father, other than his looks.

Edward let out a long exhale as he closed his eyes and hung his head. He didn't want Mei to keep smothering his children like this or they would miss the train, the train that they needed to board very soon or else wait awhile longer to get to Colonel Mustang in Central "...Mei, please put him down...he might suffocate if you keep it up."

Mei harrumphed stubbornly and turned her head away moodily, her initial annoyance resurfacing. "Hmph! You're no fun, Edward!"

She reluctantly lowered the young three-year-old to his feet and watched as he retreated behind his father's leg once again. The princess and her micro panda companion both frowned with worry as they noticed that Edward was lacking his normal spunk and the fact that he was acting so down-in-the-dumps had her reeling in confusion.

Her obsidian eyes softened towards the older Elric brother and she opened her mouth to say something but before she could, she felt something...a presence...her posture went rigid and her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she looked around wearily.

Ed took notice of this and looked up, his eyes starting to fill with concern.

"What is it now?"

Mei was silent for several moments as she glared into space. A dark look overcame her sweet facial features and Xiao Mei wore a very similar expression as she sat perched on her owner's shoulder. A sudden darkening presence had loomed over the whole train station and had befallen the atmosphere like a dark shadow that stretched along the ground.

The duo were both silent for several moments before Mei gave a long blink and then she looked back to the Elric brothers and children.

Mei spoke in a sudden hushed tone as she took Alphonse by the hand and proceeded to drag him in the direction of the train.

"Come along. I shall accompany you on the train," she said quickly as she cast a skeptical glare to that same patch of open space where she had glanced out into mere seconds ago.

Ed and Al didn't speak a word in defiance as they had a feeling that they had to trust the young princess on this as she was suddenly acting very odd, even for her normal behaviour.

Edward carried his children to the train with his golden eyes filled with suspicion for what had just come over his sister-in-law-to-be; he didn't know how to react to this let alone inquire about what had just happened, yet he didn't like this one bit. But he quickly halted in his tracks when something in the distance caught his eye.

Turning his head, Edward looked over and found a sight that made his eyes widen.

The morning sun was just rising over the hilltops afar, beautiful sunbeams starting to stretch across the skies as they contrasted against the deep indigo shade of the skyline. The pink clouds of morning started to slowly pass by in a slow and gentle passing as they hovered just beneath the rising sun. The hilltops had been gently kissed by the soft yet warm rays of sunlight as it contrasted beautifully with the soft and delicate canvas of dawn.

The ex-fullmetal alchemist could swear that the corners of his lips curled slightly upwards as the view made his eyes grow misty.

For a brief instant, he felt a bit better about what had transpired. He looked down at his son and daughter and noticed that they were peacefully asleep in his arms, each curling up on to his chest as they slept.

Edward sighed gently whilst he leaned his head down and kissed each of his children's foreheads and smiled softly at them.

His heart had so suddenly been lifted, and he knew now that he had to be strong for his children...much like he was for Alphonse years ago. He had been strong for his little brother and now he needed to be strong for his two little ones.

"Ed, come on!" The sound of Alphonse's voice shattered the mood and made Ed frown again.

Edward almost jumped out of his skin upon hearing the sudden mention of his own name. He hadn't expected that, he hated being surprised like that! He clutched his heart to try and prevent it from bursting out of his chest and he could swear that a bead of sweat was starting to dribble down his face.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance and, without needing to be told twice, he turned on his heel and walked over to board the train of which Al and Mei were standing in the doorway of. They both wore grumpy expressions on their faces as they waited for the former alchemist to get a move on so they could get moving and be on their way on their great new quest to find Winry.

Ed jumped into the train, minding Al and Mei, and the group started to move down into the train to settle themselves down and get their bearings together. Ed even noticed his little brother staggering under the weight of the suitcases that he had been forced to carry now that his big bro was carrying the kids.

As Al walked, though, Ed thought to himself sarcastically and somewhat bitterly.

 _'Great...thanks for ruining the mood, bro...'_

Edward could tell that Alphonse was anxious to know what this was all about and he promised himself that he would tell him all he knew on this dilemma whenever they settled down. He had to admit it; he was actually starting to feel a tad better now.

He had to be strong for Edmund and Trisha and even though that would take a lot of work, he felt like he was up for the challenge; he had to be ready to face fatherhood.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry if this chapter wasn't as good as the others, I have just been having trouble writing. But I'm glad to have finished this chapter regardless.**

 **I promise you guys that we will see Roy and Riza again soon and probably some other familiar characters, and I have been having fun with this and I hope to give you all what you deserve which is the best from me...but then again, I put my all into each chapter so meh...**

 **I do love FMA, though. Its a masterpiece of an anime!**

 **I wish they did more on it.**

 **Lets see what happens in the next chapter, will we see what caused Mei to behave so strangely? Will Ed keep his promise and be the best father he can be?**

 **Find out next!**

 **-Chloemcg**


	10. Chapter 9: Calm before the storm

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Fullmetal alchemist. They belong to their respective owners and not me.**

 **Shadows of the past.**

* * *

Mei kept a serious frown on her face as she kept staring at the wall in front of her. Ever since the beginning of this train ride she had felt the chi beneath the ground go sour and unnatural, it was as if something was obstructing the proper flow of chi and alkahestry itself.

She somehow managed to ignore how the train ride bounced her and all the passengers aboard and she even kept her eyes hard and firm as she recollected all the tragic travesties that had befallen the Elric family once again; such as Winry being abducted and the family home being burnt into a pile of cinders and ashes.

The mere thought of it all had made her stomach turn and her soul sicken.

But she also had a funny feeling that Ed knew exactly what was going on here, he had been acting somewhat withdrawn since Winry's disappearance and she could tell that he was going to spill it all very soon.

Mei trusted that things were going to be rough but she was more worried about the children, little Eddie and Trisha; they were completely innocent in all this yet they were suffering through a big hardship now and they were probably being forced to grow up pretty quick. She looked on sympathetically.

Edmund slept with his arms wrapped protectively around Trisha, while the infant in turn snoozed against her brother. They both shared a chair beside their father whom simply seemed lost in thought whilst he used a gentle finger to give his son's head long featherlight strokes.

Alphonse interrupted his future wife's thoughts and sighed aloud. He kept himself strong through the persistent rattling of the train cart as the sounds of the wheels bumping over the railroad echoed aloud in the small groups ears. He looked over at his silent older brother and then stared absent-mindedly back out the window, watching as the whole world whirled by in a blur of scenery.

"Ok. Now can you tell me what's going on?" He asked.

The question gained Ed's attention as he lifted his hand off his son's head and rested it on his lap instead. Upon noticing that his father had stopped stroking him, Eddie shifted in his sleep and turned to lie on his back with one arm unfurling from Trisha's tiny body.

Ed, like Al, kept himself still against the almost irresistibly bouncy movements of the train cart and he even shifted his line of focus, training his eyes on to his concerned little brother. His golden eyes were fierce and his frown was hard; clearly he was trying to steadily collect his thoughts and find the words to explain what was going on as he had promised earlier.

For whatever reason, Ed was silent for awhile.

He finally opened his mouth and explained himself, "Okay...apparently there's this mysterious criminal lurking around, trying to hunt me down. He's been using this strange type of alchemy that nobody has ever seen before and I suspect that this guy's responsible for kidnapping Winry and setting my home on fire."

When he mentioned his wife and house, Ed became visibly tense as he clenched his hand into a fist. His brows stiffened and he clenched his teeth although these signs were subtle and very hard to miss.

Alphonse quickly became aware of his brother's temper and frowned with his eyes glazed with concern and confusion. He looked at his niece and nephew whom both continued to sleep the train ride away and they occasionally shifted their positions to continue peacefully slumbering; Al now understood why Ed was so worried but this information intrigued him to the point where he was now literally scratching his head to try and figure out what this guy was after and why it was just Ed, considering that he was just as important as his older brother.

"We're going to see the Colonel and ask him if he knows anybody else who knows flame alchemy?" Ed declared, his voice chilled and even as he kept his vocal volume in check so he wouldn't awaken his kids.

Al was even more confused "Hm?"

Ed amended. "According to what Eddie said, the person who burnt my home down to ashes used alchemy and then the house was lit into flames."

Alphonse remembered. Last night, Edmund was very panicky as he explained what had transpired. He had been crying himself hoarse whilst he explained everything although Ed seemed to have remembered every little detail of that breakdown that the young three-year old had experienced, he had mentioned that Winry had put both him and Trisha into a small closet and then, only after hearing a small clapping noise, did the house ignite into flames.

It seemed to line up with flame alchemy.

But Al pointed out simply "Well, yes, but he was hysterical and let's not forget that he's still just a very little kid who had just been through a traumatic event. We need to keep those factors in mind."

Ed sighed and glanced out into space, leaning heavily against his arm as he rested his head against it. He knew that Al was correct; he knew that his son was reliable and would not intentionally lie although with that situation and how he was feeling could have made his thoughts jumble so he would be confused and disoriented. This coupled with the child's age would make everything slightly doubtful so Ed realised that he would have to ask his son again at a later date so he could see if everything would still match up then.

Edward's golden eyes were almost dull and his mouth was pulled into a tight frown whilst he watched the world whirl by in a blur and he avoided looking into the discouraged eyes of Alphonse; the younger Elric brother, though, kept his eyes down on his lap as to try and avoid Edward's own troubled gaze.

Whenever Ed looked so stumped, it almost made a chill trickle down Al's spinal cord since he knew how rare it was for this to happen, and how impatient and irritable his big brother could be when he was confused and unable to think clearly.

But then Al looked back up over to Ed when he tried to change the subject.

"Hey brother? Do you have the list Granny made you?" He asked, his expression brightening just a tad.

Edward looked back at Al, his focused brooding melting away into confusion about why his little brother was asking him such a question right now. He reached up to get the suitcase that had been packed for the kids and noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of the lid.

Gripping the paper and sliding it out the case, Ed handed it over to Al and furrowed his brows with even more confusion etching on his face. He looked long and hard at Al and asked him, making sure to keep his tone and vocal volume in check as to avoid awakening the children.

"Yep. But why did you want it?"

Alphonse unfolded the paper and examined the legible writing carefully whilst he continuously peeked over the top of the sheet before looking back at the nicely-scribbled penmanship "Because we need to see about your kids feeding habits and stuff. You've been away on and off and you need to get reacquainted with them."

Ed felt kind of stupid to admit it but he had to acknowledge the truth behind his little brother's words. Due to how much he travelled, he hardly spent enough time with his kids and now they had b on without him so he had to learn to be a parent again. He had to learn of their interests and disinterests, likes and dislikes if he was going to care for them properly. His cheeks blushed scarlet with embarrassment and his golden eyes slowly wandered down to look at his own lap so he could avoid revealing to his brother that he was a tad sheepish that he didn't know as much as he would have liked about his own kids.

The ex-fullmetal alchemist looked at the piece of paper Al held and decided to take a small read of it himself.

There was quite a lot of detailed stuff written down and all of it impressed Edward. All the writing and words blended into a big mass of black and white so it was a tad overwhelming before he managed to blink and single it all out. He squinted his eyes a bit, maybe he would need some reading glasses later. The list detailed on everything that included child care like when the kids were next scheduled to have a nap, or when Trisha had to be fed and stuff like that.

Again, it was extremely detailed and Ed almost smiled at how much precision was on this small piece of paper.

Ed folded the list back up again and shoved it into his pocket before he started to notice that his future sister-in-law had been awfully quiet. He glanced over to look at Mei but found that she was gently reaching down to stroke Eddie's little head whilst her little micro panda companion was keeping a safe distance from them but with an inquisitive expression on her round furry face.

Her onyx eyes were filled with adoration for the two small children as she wore a sweet little smile on her face, she was even humming a gentle melody under her breath.

Edward grinned a bit. At first he found Mei to have been an annoying little girl but she had matured a lot since then and she was actually quite good with children. He actually wasn't surprised that Al had fallen for her.

All was silent for a short while before a small voice had brought Ed out of his train of thought.

"Nnnngh...dad...?"

The former fullmetal alchemist looked down and found himself staring directly into a pair of heavily-lidded blue pools. They were glazed over and almost withdrawn; the boy blinked weakly as he sluggishly reached forwards and softly grabbed the fabric of his father's coat, gripping it gently as he gave it a small tug to try and get his father's attention.

Edward uncomfortably smiled in response, having not expected to see his son awake so soon. He could tell that the small boy was still exhausted and drowsy so he decided to just do what came naturally as a response and stroked his son's head as he whispered in a hushed voice.

"Uhm. Try and get some more sleep, little man, we'll be off this train soon..."

His claim was proven to be valid as Ed peaked out the window to check and see if his own words rang true and found that the countryside valleys were being replaced with city sidewalks and shops that were, like the green lushness from before, rushing by in a blurred mess of grey and other smudges of colours.

But, deep within his soul, Ed felt a deep dread brewing. Some part inside of him was screaming out that something was wrong and that his heart and mind were trying to tell him something but he couldn't quite explain what exactly. Like an instinct of ones gut, he could feel it in the bolts and inner-workings of his automail leg.

He had to keep a sharp eye out for anything that could go wrong.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry about that, guys, I've just been a bit busy.**

 **Ok, so here's a new chapter for you guys. I thought that a calmer chapter was needed so we have the moment where Ed explains what's been going on and we get some nice interaction here. So later there should be some more epic stuff to pick the story up.**

 **I'll try and get some more stuff out so please be patient.**

 **Reviews would be amazing and I hope you like this chapter.**

 **-Chloemcg**


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